Lincoln City begin life back in the Championship on Saturday at Middlesbrough, marking their return to English football's second tier after a 65-year absence with an unusual leadership structure at the helm. Rather than appointing a single successor to Michael Skubala, who guided the Imps to 103 points and the title before departing for Bristol City, the club has turned to former assistants Tom Shaw and Chris Cohen as joint head coaches.
The appointment emerged organically, according to the pair, who were already discussing their vision for the role with club hierarchy as the search for Skubala's replacement got under way. Rather than a hierarchy imposed from outside, the arrangement reflects years of working relationship between the two men, who share driving duties to and from the training ground and even spend leisure time together, including regular rounds of golf.
Cohen was quick to distinguish the setup from previous shared-manager experiments in English football, most notably Liverpool's troubled pairing of Roy Evans and Gérard Houllier in the late 1990s. "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," Cohen explained. "Me and Tom have formed a relationship over the last few years where the club has seen our relationship as a pair of coaches and blokes evolve... They understand that if it is going to work with any two coaches, then this is probably the one with the best chance because we see football the same way, we see life the same way."
The division of labor sees Cohen focus primarily on defensive organization while Shaw takes charge of attacking play, though the pair rarely work side by side during sessions, instead observing different training groups to gain varied perspectives. Former Hull defender Paul McShane and goalkeeping coach David Preece round out the staff. Players have reportedly been instructed to avoid calling either man "gaffer" or "boss."
Cohen, who spent years as an assistant coach before this promotion, described the value of having a co-decision-maker in high-pressure moments. "I've been an assistant for a long time, so I've had that relationship with managers where I've had their full trust, but there is a different feel about having the final decision and being sure that you're making the right one," he said. "To have two of us to check and challenge each other and then come out with hopefully the best logical decision for the team."
Both coaches learned of their promotion while on separate holidays — Shaw in Greece, Cohen in Spain — hastily finalizing paperwork before returning to celebrate with their families, whose close relationship added a personal dimension to the professional milestone.
Lincoln's rise has been built on careful long-term planning, including a purpose-built training facility funded partly by FA Cup prize money from their run to the quarter-finals as a National League club in 2016-17. Promotion to the Championship has enabled a further £9m investment in the ground and training facilities, with additional expansion in the pipeline. The club has also handed out 14 new contracts since securing promotion, alongside two permanent signings and three loan additions.
Despite entering the season as bookmakers' favorites for relegation — and facing a Middlesbrough side that has spent over £20m on new signings this summer, compared to Lincoln's roughly £5m outlay across their entire 142-year history — the Imps have shown early promise, notably defeating Championship rivals Derby County 2-1 away in the Carabao Cup last weekend.
Cohen expressed hope that opponents might underestimate his squad. "We hope we're underestimated, we hope the big clubs in the division when they turn up at Sincil Bank underestimate how good our players are, how good our fans are, how good our stadium is to come to," he said, praising his squad's technical ability alongside their "heart and passion."
Shaw acknowledged the pair's collaborative process ahead of Saturday's opener at the Riverside Stadium. "We will check and challenge each other through the week... And then by Thursday, Friday we're super aligned and massively behind whatever decisions we've come to," he said.
Based on reporting from The Guardian.