Lincoln City have been praised for the ‘masterstroke’ decision to hand Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw the joint head coach role in the summer following a strong start to the season.
The Imps returned to England’s second tier for the first time in 65 years after a staggering League One title win. Their 103-point haul saw them finish 12 points clear of nearest rivals Cardiff City, whilst play-off winners Bolton Wanderers finished an unbelievable 28 points adrift of the East Midlands-based side.
Unsurprisingly, this saw head coach Michael Skubala become an attractive option for clubs on the lookout for a new man in the dugout. Bristol City swooped quickly to appoint the 43-year-old in May, whilst star player Jack Moylan also departed for pastures new by joining Cardiff in August.
Lincoln Written Off Before A Ball Was Kicked
Despite winning League One at a canter, Lincoln were widely tipped to be blown away this season. They were written off in almost all quarters, with most pre-season predictions putting them bottom of the table before a ball was even kicked.
One of those was former Second Tier Podcast host Ryan Dilks, who questioned the decision to hand Cohen and Shaw the joint head coach role. The pair both acted as assistants under Skubala and were known locally as the brains behind last season’s success. However, that wasn’t a view shared nationally. Speaking in August, Dilks was one of many who was perplexed by the move:
“It was an incredible achievement (winning League One), but their budget and the overall size of the club meant it was always going to be tough for them to stay in the Championship. Not impossible, but tough.
“The task was made even tougher with their manager Michael Skubala leaving for Bristol City. He was very much the mastermind behind their promotion. He had them fighting well above their weight and his departure is a humongous blow.
“He’s been replaced by his assistant managers, Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw. They’ve been made co-managers.
“I can see why Lincoln have done it because it’s a continuation of what Skubala was doing previously, but it leaves a lot of question marks.”
Good Start Leads To Change Of Opinion
Lincoln have arguably been one of the shocks of the Championship so far this season. They sit 12th after eight games and are unlucky not to be higher.
They lost on the opening day to Middlesbrough, going down to a late Will Lankshear double, whilst a point apiece against Blackburn Rovers and Southampton may be considered missed opportunities. Still, excellent away wins over Bolton, Preston North End and Bristol City show they are going to be a stern test throughout the campaign.
This has seen the Imps receive praise from all quarters over the past few weeks, prompting Dilks to have a change of heart. In his latest final 2026/27 table prediction, he now has Cohen and Shaw’s team avoiding the drop:
“The team I predicted to finish bottom at the start of the season, but I have been impressed with Lincoln, and the pre-season concerns I had have gone a long way to being erased already.
“A big one I had was them losing their manager and appointing joint managers. Of course, Michael Skubala (was) very much the man behind Lincoln’s promotion to the Championship for the first time in over 60 years, and the decision to appoint joint managers was a questionable one for me.
“There’s a reason why we don’t see joint managers very often but, from what I’m seeing so far, it looks like it’s been a masterstroke. What Tom Shaw and Chris Cohen have done is just continue the great work that Skubala had done.
“They were almost his understudies last season and they haven’t completely changed everything. They’ve just said, ‘look, we’ll just continue what was happening last season’, and it’s working really well for them.
“They have been brilliant so far and have been good value for the 12th place they currently find themselves in the division.”
Lincoln are next in action next Saturday when they take the trip to Bramall Lane to face Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United.
