Everybody at Lincoln City offers their condolences to the family of legendary Imps manager Colin Murphy, who passed away peacefully this weekend.
Murph, as he was affectionately known within the club, had two successful spells overseeing the first-team at Sincil Bank - from 1978 to 1985, then again from 1987 to 1990 - memorably leading the Imps back to the Football League at the first time of asking.
He first joined City in 1978, moving from a role as assistant manager at Notts County, securing a second-placed finish in Division Four in 1980/81 to seal promotion.
He led the Imps to sixth in their first campaign back in the third tier, with a team widely considered the best ever put together at the club with many players going on to play in the top tier.
There were also memorable cup results in his spell in charge, with victory over First Division Leicester City in the 1982/83 season as part of a League Cup run which was only ended with defeat at West Ham United.
There was also a famous two-legged tie with Tottenham Hotspur in 1983/84, with a 2-1 victory at Sincil Bank not enough to seal progression as a 3-1 success at White Hart Lane gave the Londoners a 4-3 aggregate win.
He resigned in May 1985 and when he returned to Lincolnshire in the summer of 1987 the club had been relegated out of the league, but "Murph's Mission" led the Imps back into the Football League at the first time of asking.
He was the first inductee into the club’s Hall of Fame in December 2018, with the players’ lounge renamed as Murph’s in his honour in October 2021.
He remained a regular at City's home games, and watched on as Mark Kennedy's side won both their home league matches of this season.
Murph also had spells managing Derby County, Stockport County, Southend United, Shelbourne, Notts County and Cork City. His last role in football was at Hull City, where he was assistant manager then director of development.