Danny Rowe earned himself membership of a fairly exclusive club last season as he not only celebrated the glorious high of promotion but also suffered the low blow of relegation.
In a bizarre twist, the winger or attacking midfielder played a part in Lincoln’s success, netting four times in 17 league appearances during a loan spell at Sincil Bank as Danny Rowe’s men clinched the League Two title.
But as he sat in the dressing room sipping some of the celebratory Champagne, to which he was fully entitled, he could not prevent himself thinking about parent club Town’s relegation to the same level.
Rowe said: "It was a case of real ups and downs. It’s never nice to be part of being relegated and I was thinking about the lads back here.
"Now it’s just a case of moving on and trying to get back to the Championship, which is where we want to be and in my view should be.
"As experiences go, it was massive to end the season on a high because at the start I was injured and missed all of pre-season.
"When I came back I was training at times with the U23s, so it didn’t help me out fitness-wise.
"I had to go and get games, and luckily for me I went to a winning team. It was a really positive experience and being a part of a team that won the league title is something I will take with me for the rest of my career.”
Rowe also had a loan spell at Sincil Bank in the second half of the 2017/18 season, which saw him score twice in 16 appearances, so he is well qualified to comment on the success story that has been Danny Cowley’s time in charge of the Imps, who were in the National League when he took charge.
He added: "I think in football it’s all about momentum and at Lincoln I think they’ve got that going for them.
"Week in, week out, you go into games knowing that you’re going to win the game, or at least that you’ve got a strong chance of winning it. I think the players take that mindset into every game.
"Looking at the lads here, I thought we played really well in a lot of games last season.
"At times it was just about getting that goal — that’s what it seemed to be — so hopefully we can add to that in the new season and go on to have a good season. It’s important to get a good start then take it forward and progress from there.
"Relegation is one of the worst things that can happen to a player. When you get relegated it affects a lot of things but you have to remember where you were and use that to push you on because you should want to get back to that level as soon as possible. Hopefully that’s what we will do.
"I know we’re going to be a scalp for opponents and that we’re there to be shot at. But every team that comes down is generally among the favourites to go straight back up and whether or not you are favourites isn’t something that concerns the players. We know what we want, we know our goal and that’s all we can focus on.”
Rowe admitted he faced an uncertain future at Portman Road following the club’s drop down to League One and doesn’t deny that he spent time during his summer break thinking about what lay in store in the new campaign due to start tomorrow at Burton.
He added: "You always weigh up your options over the summer. I’ve been sent out on loan in each of the past two seasons so it was important for me to think about my next move and where I was going to be playing.
"When I reported back the gaffer said he thought I had done well at Lincoln and just said ‘Come in, get your head down and look to get your chance’.
"The way I look at it this is like part two of my Ipswich career, I suppose. This time I want to make my mark and I’m really looking forward to it.”