Lincoln's ex-Sheffield Wednesday man's return is sentimental

Luke Foster has spoken for the first time since agreeing to rejoin the Imps, stating the he is returning because of sentimentality and hopes to establish himself as a first team player after being on the fringers during his first spell/

Foster returned to the Imps on trial ahead of the 7-1 friendly win over Lincoln United and he has put in a string of consistently impressive performances, all of which has convinced Gary Simpson that he is worth a second chance at the club.

After initially joining from Sheffield Wednesday in 2005, Foster found first team opportunities hard to come by because of the quality of the defence at the time. He was competing with Gareth McAuley, who has since gone on to play for West Brom in the Premier League, Jamie McCombe who helped Bristol City to Championship Playoff Final in 2007/8 and Paul Morgan, who many regard as the finest defender than the Imps have had for this generation.

Speaking to the Lincolnshire Echo, Foster stated "I was only a young lad when I was here before, about 20 or 21, and I just blended into the background then because there were some big players here. People like Gareth McAuley, who is now in the Premier League and an international footballer."

Despite his lack of regular first team football, Foster did impress many Imps fans when he played, and despite initially dropping down the divisions after leaving Sincil Bank in 2007, he soon rose up to play in League One last season with Preston North End. He could have easily joined a club much higher than one that has finished 17th and 16th in the last two seasons respectively, but Foster's reasons for rejoining the Imps weren't money related, which makes a nice change.

"It was quite difficult (to drop from League One to the Conference). I wouldn't have dropped for many clubs. Obviously, there are sentimental reasons for coming back to Lincoln. It was a bit of a reality check being back to this league, but I am no stranger to it, I have been here before, so I am looking forward to it if that's what happens."