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Radek Vitek's Middlesbrough arrival and what it means for Sol Brynn after solid start Radek Vitek has signed from Manchester United, giving Sol Brynn tough competition It's a pity that when all the accolades were handed out following the Cup win that they did not include the name of Sol Brynn. The Teesside-born keeper not only had a solid game, but made two brilliant saves in the first half. If not for Brynn’s great stops then Middlesbrough could even have gone on to lose the game. It was a clear indication that Brynn is determined to step up on last season and try to compete in the pole position for the No.1 shirt even after Radek Vitek's arrival from Manchester United. Brynn had his critics last season. He made some errors at crucial times, but overall he wasn’t as bad as some people made out. In any case, name a keeper who has never made a mistake. Last season was part of Brynn’s learning curve. It’s a fair bet that he will be even more worldly wise this time around and a better keeper as a result. It will be interesting to see how it impacts him if Vitek is straight into the side this weekend and Brynn is moved to the bench. Kim Hellberg and his staff see Brynn in training every day. They will have their own opinions on whether he is the man for another promotion push or not. With Vitek coming in from Manchester United in a big-money deal, it’s hard to see the Czech not getting the vote. Vitek has already been quoted in the media as saying that he 'wants first team football'. So presumably he has agreed to join the Boro only with that in mind. If Vitek comes in and proves a better keeper than Brynn then we can have no arguments because all we want to do is see Boro in the best possible situation to go up this term. What exactly that means for Brynn, and whether he can stay and fight for his spot in the team, remains to be seen. Will he be content being second choice and possibly cup goalkeeper, or would he rather seek a move elsewhere. We shall see. Lincoln not to be taken lightly Lincoln City will find it hard in a full competitive season in the Championship – but they will be fighting like terriers, or should that be Imps, at the Riverside on Saturday. In many ways it will be akin to a cuptie, so Middlesbrough must prepare for a tough game, even though Lincoln are among the bookies’ favourites to go down. It’s interesting that Lincoln have already made preparations for the huge step-up in class by bringing in three new defenders. They have signed left-back Callum Elder from Derby on a free, centre-back Andrei Coubis from Universitatea Cluj for an undisclosed fee and taken goalkeeper Joe Gauci on loan from Aston Villa. Elder is an Australian international who played a lot of games for Hull City earlier in his career, while Romanian international Coubis was once on the books of both AC Milan and Sampdoria, without managing to make a first team breakthrough. Gauci, who has not made a senior league appearance for Villa, is also an Aussie international. Lincoln have had mixed fortunes in their pre-season friendlies, including a 5-1 defeat away to League Two side Grimsby Town. That’s exactly the same score than Boro lost a pre-season friendly at Lincoln in the summer of 1992. Boro, who had just been promoted to the Premier League, were expected to comfortably overcome the Imps, who were in Division Three. But Boro were dreadful on the day, totally under-estimated their lowly opponents, and quite naturally manager Lennie Lawrence was spitting blood afterwards. The setback didn’t initially affect Boro once the Premier League got underway. They won four of their first seven matches, including a quite remarkable 4-1 hammering of reigning champions Leeds United. Lincoln and Boro haven’t met in competitive action since 1961 when, ironically, Boro conceded another five goals in a 5-2 defeat at Sincil Bank in the Second Division. Hots shots Brian Clough and Alan Peacock both got their names on the scoresheet that day, but Boro still ended up being well beaten. In the home game at Ayresome Park, Boro were held to a 1-1 draw, with Bill Harris netting for Bob Dennison’s men. A massive crowd at the Riverside on Saturday have every right to expect a totally different outcome, but after a tough battle. ------------- Join our WhatsApp community to get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe. Your information will be hidden, you'll only ever receive messages from the Teesside Live sports team, and you can leave any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'Exit group'. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.