Lincoln City

Lincoln arrive in the Championship with a model that has already taken them further than their resources might suggest. Their rise has been built on intelligent recruitment, strong organisation and finding players capable of developing rather than simply competing financially with larger clubs. Promotion is a major achievement, but this division will test that approach more severely than anything before it.

They will regularly face clubs with larger squads, bigger budgets and more individual quality. Lincoln's answer has to be the same collective strength that brought them here in the first place. The danger for promoted sides is changing too much in response to the level and losing the qualities that made them successful. Lincoln need to adapt without abandoning their identity.

If they remain organised, competitive and difficult to play against, they have a chance of making the step up look much less dramatic than the difference in resources suggests.