Do you remember in January 2019 when Luton Town manager Nathan Jones was poached from the club by Stoke City and the Hatters' promotion chances fell apart?

Nor do I. And it is something that Lincoln City should take note of.

On their promotion to the third-tier from League Two in 2018, Luton had a firmly settled team behind the scenes. One that apparently held the secrets to their success.

So when Jones and a large number of those staff members were ripped away from them in January, with Luton challenging for a top-two place, many expected their promotion chances to fade away.

Eyebrows were further raised when it was announced that former player and caretaker manager Mick Harford would be remaining in the role until the end of the season. Surely they could not maintain their momentum with somebody so devoid of managerial experience at the helm?

But, because he knew the club inside and out, that is exactly what happened. Luton were emphatically promoted to the second-tier as Champions, with Harford now firmly embedded as one of the greats of the club. Nathan Jones? Not so much.

Lincoln now find themselves in a similar scenario. Okay, they have lost their iconic manager a few months earlier, but the situation surrounding it remains close to identical.

Under Danny Cowley, the Imps had built a strong bond with the fanbase as well as strong playing identity; they were tough to beat and utterly ruthless in attack.

But with his departure to Huddersfield now confirmed, they find themselves in the undesirable position of having to find a new boss in the middle of a busy season.

Nevertheless, two frontrunners for the job came to the fore.

Gareth Ainsworth of Wycombe Wanderers and Michael Flynn of Newport County. Both candidates Lincoln fans looked happy to take on board, but both have ultimately rejected the chance.

So what to do now? Having such uncertainties hanging over a group of players mid-season have derailed many a promotion or survival bid before and Lincoln will not want to fall foul of that themselves.

The Luton approach may, therefore, prove the most appealing. In Jamie McCombe, they have a caretaker manager who has played over 100 times for the club across two spells, with three years under the Cowleys also to his name.

He will know how the club ticks and, more importantly, how those in the dressing room tick as well - both on and off the pitch.

A 1-0 home loss to Bristol Rovers will not have been what he was after. Obviously. But looking back at the success Luton had under Harford, giving McCombe the role until the end of the season is something that the club should start to seriously consider.