Lincoln City sporting director Jez George has clarified the situation around defender Josh Honohan, their major signing of the winter window.
The Imps pursued Honohan throughout the latter part of 2025, having failed in a bid to acquire him in the summer. The Ireland international remained with Shamrock Rovers, winning the league and cup double, before crossing to England for the next stage of his career.
Some reports have placed the fee in the club record category, over £400,000, but The Deck understands that the £350,000 they spent on Ivan Varfolomeev in the summer was not surpassed by the initial fee.
George, speaking to the club’s YouTube channel, has previously mentioned that Honohan has arrived carrying an injury and that it will be managed properly before he is seen on the pitch at Sincil Bank.
“There’s a little bit of an issue fitness-wise. It’s well documented we tried to sign Josh all summer. We respected Shamrock Rovers’ position as they had a league, a cup, and Europe to play in.
“The dialogue continued and we got the deal done early after their season ended. We were aware Josh had a fitness issue towards the back end of their season, so it needed careful management after their cup final on 9th November.”
The cup final saw Honohan on the end of a horror challenge from Harry Nevin, a former teammate of Honohan at Cork, and privately, George has told the Deck he was in attendance and winced, knowing that a deal was possible.
However, while he has arrived injured, George confirmed he is a long-term project, and this is a short-term issue.
“He’s joined us in a good place, but we have to look after Josh for the next three and a half years, not the next three and a half weeks. We want him 100%, with no recurrence.
“He’s gone a long period without playing, so supporters should continue to give him the welcome they have, but also give him time. We’ll see him in a Lincoln City shirt this season, no doubt, but we want the very best version of Josh when that happens.”
The situation is not unlike that of Danny Mandroiu, who joined the Imps from Shamrock Rovers in 2022. He also arrived injured, and took a while to get up to match fitness, but when he did, he settled and added 22 goal involvements across his two-and-a-half seasons at Sincil Bank.
George also confirmed that Mandroiu, now back at Shamrock after turning down the chance to stay with the Imps, played a part in convincing Honohan to sign for City.
“Danny Mandroiu was a big part of attracting Josh to the club because he spoke so well of Lincoln. Before Josh even arrived, we obviously did our sales pitch, but having someone like Danny speak so highly of us really helps.”
The Imps currently sit second in the League One table, having taken 13 points from 15 over Christmas.
Fans have to wait
Lincoln City fans are riding the crest of a wave at the moment, experiencing a promotion push even the most optimistic of supporters couldn’t predict. There have been calls to ‘go for it’ this window and strengthen big, but from George’s interview, it’s believed that won’t be the case.
It hasn’t been the Lincoln way for a while now. Their growth is methodical, organised and managed, always within the boundaries of affordability, or as close to it as an EFL club can get. Waiting for a player, be it to come of age, return from injury, or become available to buy, is in their nature, and their current situation demonstrates they probably get it right.