Lincoln have appointed Michael Skubala as their new head coach after a “rigorous” recruitment process.

Skubala succeeds Mark Kennedy in the hot seat with the Imps sitting ninth in the League One table – four points off the play-off places.

The 41-year-old previously served as first-team coach at Leeds and worked with the England Under-18 side.

"It feels great to be here, it has been a really warm welcome and I'm looking forward to getting going,” he told the club website.

"I've been here for a couple of games in the past few weeks and I've seen how important the fans are for the young players, and how they can push the team.

"I'm really excited to work hard with the players every day, to meet the fans and be part of Lincoln City. I feel something here that I felt when I moved to Leeds, which is how important the supporters can be to the club."

Lincoln are back in League One action this weekend when they head to the Lamex Stadium to take on Stevenage. 

Chairman Clive Nates added: "We have been tracking Michael for some time as he is one of the most exciting young coaches in the game right now and had a robust recruitment process to ensure he was the right person for us at this time.

“We had a global list of 15 coaches we thought would be a good fit, and Michael impressed as we went through the interviews. The warm wishes from Leeds United show how respected and popular he was there.

"We see this as a progressive appointment - Michael shares our ethos on player development, style of play and ambition.

“He has a clear vision for how he implements this and a track record of developing talented young players.”