Imps star attracting interest

Blackburn Rovers and Birmingham City are both understood to be monitoring Lincoln City defender Gareth McAuley.

The Imps only snapped up the Northern Ireland stopper in the summer when they signed him from Coleraine.

The 24-year-old has taken little time in settling into the English game under Keith Alexander.

McAuley has already secured a first team place at the expense of Simon Weaver and he is going from strength to strength.

The imposing defender, a Northern Ireland 'B' international, is now attracting a great deal of interest from the clubs from higher divisions.

Lincoln have suffered a slow start to the campaign, but they are still expected to feature in the promotion battle - as they have done in recent seasons.

Because of their good form over the last few campaigns, a number of scouts can often be found at Sincil Bank.

The likes of Aston Villa and Bolton have previously been linked with Ben Futcher, McAuley's new defensive partner, so it is no surprise more top flight clubs are checking on The Imps' new star.