Pride grows around Sincil Bank as Lincoln City push for promotion

There is a growing sense of pride around Sincil Bank as Lincoln City continue their push for promotion, with supporters, neighbours and local businesses all feeling the lift that comes when the Imps are flying. For many in Lincoln, this is about far more than league positions. It is about the feeling that the club and the community around it are moving together. As the side chases a place in the Championship for the first time since 1961, people with long ties to the ground say the mood around the LNER Stadium has become something special.

Among them is lifelong supporter Margaret Done, now in her 80s, who has watched Lincoln City across the decades. She described the club as a family place and said the sense of teamwork on the pitch now seems to be spreading into the stands as well. For her, the atmosphere on matchdays is one of the biggest reasons this season stands out. Margaret is also involved away from the action, volunteering as a mental health first responder with the Red Imps Community Trust.

Drawing on her previous experience as a hospital chaplain, she said she wanted to give something back after gaining so much herself through the club and its people. That bond between club and city can be seen just beyond the turnstiles too. Barbara Gooding has lived only a few doors down from the stadium for half a century, long enough to see generations of fans stream through the streets on matchday. Bigger crowds, she suggested, are simply part of life when you live so close to Lincoln City.

More than anything, she said she was pleased for the team. Nearby businesses are also hearing and feeling the impact. At Lincoln City Chippy, only a short distance from the Stacey-West Stand, owner Jalel Mohammed can hear the roar when the home side score. He said matchdays bring a regular flow of supporters and local customers, adding to the sense that football at Sincil Bank reaches well beyond the 90 minutes on the pitch.

Jalel, who has run the shop for five years, said he had known of Lincoln City before working there, but has been struck by the club's strong season and the happiness it has brought to those around the ground. There is history here too, and memory. Former club mascot Gary Hutchinson, who spent 16 years as Poacher the Imp, reflected on the meaning of the Stacey-West Stand. Its name honours Bill Stacey and Jim West, the two Lincoln supporters who died in the Bradford City fire in 1985.

That mix of hope, routine and remembrance helps explain why this moment matters so much in Lincoln. Promotion is the target, but around Sincil Bank the story is also about belonging. For many in this part of the city, Lincoln City's rise is being felt as a shared moment of local pride.

This story was adapted by The Lincoln Post from original reporting by www.bbc.com.