CHAMPIONS! Sitting nicely in seventh place in Division Four at the turn of 1987, three wins from 23 matches not only sent the Imps crashing to the foot of the table, it also saw them crash out of the League for the first time in 67 years. It was imperative that City bounced back at the first time of asking. The decision was made to remain professional, work would continue on a new St Andrew’s Stand and Colin Murphy, the last man to put a promotion-winning side together at Sincil Bank, returned at the helm. "Murphy’s Mission" was about to commence. Murphy had to build virtually from scratch with only four players remaining at the Club from the previous season. With the Board’s backing, he gradually drafted in a squad of players who he felt would be capable of diving into the murky depths of the unknown and emerging with the pyramidal Conference trophy come May. After a more than tough baptism at title-favourites Barnet (2-4 with eight players making their City debuts) and big-spending Weymouth (0-3 in the first game at their new ground) you got the impression that, with City sitting at the foot of the table, a few of the Conference aficionados were having a laugh at the Imps’ expense. Time to put it right thought Murphy. In came Paul Smith from Port Vale for a non-League record fee of £48,000 and the experienced Clive Evans from Stockport County and slowly, but surely, results took a turn for the better. With each side they came up against, City were constantly forced to scrap for the points, literally on a number of occasions particularly when a brawling Barnet outfit arrived at the Bank and later on in the season Wealdstone rolled up their sleeves and tried to mix it with the big boys. Crowds were on the up - the non-League attendance record being smashed as 7,542 watched the Imps demolish county neighbours Boston United 5-1 - and when City’s 2-1 win over Stafford Rangers in their penultimate game was combined with Barnet’s 2-1 reverse at home to Runcorn it left the Imps needing a win over Wycombe Wanderers at Sincil Bank on the afternoon of Monday 2nd May 1988 to reclaim their League status. Another record attendance - officially announced as 9,432 - looked on as goals in either half from substitute Mark Sertori and top scorer Phil Brown led to scenes of both jubilation and relief on the pitch and in the stands at the final whistle. Murphy’s Mission had been accomplished and the Imps were back! This DVD features selected goal highlights from the season together with the full 90 minutes of that final game against Wycombe Wanderers at Sincil Bank. The coverage was taken from the official VHS tape that was released at the end of that season. You can purchase your copy here for just £5.95 (including P&P) using PayPal's secure online payment system. PayPal is secure and confidential, your credit card or bank account information is never transmitted to Lincoln City FC or any other PayPal payment recipient. CLICK HERE TO ENTER THE ARCHIVE SHOP