Lincoln City have appointed Tom Shaw and Chris Cohen as joint head coaches ahead of their Championship return, replacing Michael Skubala who departed for Bristol City.
Skubala guided the Imps to 103 points and promotion back to the second tier after a 65-year absence before moving on to pastures new.
The pair were already preparing their pitch to club leadership when the wheels were independently turning to promote from within, making it a natural fit rather than a forced arrangement.
Shaw and Cohen are determined to avoid comparisons to English football’s most infamous coaching partnership, the ill-fated pairing of Roy Evans and Gerard Houllier at Liverpool.
“The difference is that they’re put together by a football club, Evans and Houllier being the prime example, it’s two men just put together and told to go and do the same job,” said Cohen.
Cohen explained that their relationship developed organically over several years, built on shared values, daily routines, and a mutual understanding of how football should be played and managed.
“We obviously have differences in small decisions and nuances within everything, but principally we see the way that a football club should be run and the team should play very, very similarly,” Cohen added.
Their opening fixture takes them to the Riverside Stadium to face Middlesbrough, a club that has invested more than £20 million in summer signings compared to what Lincoln have spent across their entire 142-year history.
A 2-1 Carabao Cup victory over Derby last weekend offered encouraging early signs that Lincoln can compete at this level despite being bookmakers’ favourites for relegation.
The club has handed out 14 new contracts since promotion alongside two permanent signings and three loan additions, demonstrating a clear desire to maintain momentum.
Lincoln’s forward-thinking approach is grounded in academy principles, with both coaches having developed players through the ranks, including Jack Moylan, who was sold to Cardiff for a record fee.
On the training ground, the pair rarely work side by side, each taking separate perspectives on sessions, with former Hull defender Paul McShane also contributing while David Preece oversees the goalkeeping department.
“We do get to the end of some days and we look at each other and go: ‘Thank God we’ve got each other,'” Cohen said, reflecting on the unique demands of shared leadership.
The club’s finances have grown with promotion, enabling a £9 million upgrade to the ground and training facilities, with further expansion already in the pipeline.
Shaw and Cohen both found out they were taking charge while on separate holidays, with Shaw in Greece and Cohen in Spain, signing paperwork before returning to their families.
Shaw recalled: “There was some emotion in our families. It was just a really nice moment in our journeys and our families know each other and really get on.”
Cohen is hoping that opposition clubs underestimate what Lincoln bring to the table, describing his squad as technically and tactically strong with something extra that matters most.
“We’re bringing a couple more recruits hopefully to help with the volume of the squad but as I said all along they’re an amazing group, amazing technically, tactically, but the thing they’ve got is heart and passion which wins you games of football,” Cohen said.
Shaw confirmed that their preparation process involves healthy internal debate through the week before arriving at a unified plan heading into matchday.
“We will check and challenge each other through the week. We’ll have minor disagreements throughout the week to get to what we think is the right plan. And then by Thursday, Friday we’re super aligned and massively behind whatever decisions we’ve come to,” said Shaw.