The champagne had barely stopped popping after Lincoln City’s magnificent League One campaign when manager Michael Skubala decided to leave for pastures new at Bristol City.
The Imps had just won the title and amassed a gigantic 103 points, but were now faced with a huge decision to make: who had big enough feet to fill Skubala’s boots?
It didn’t take the City hierarchy long to name assistant coaches Tom Shaw and Chris Cohen as joint head coaches, an unorthodox move but one that had not been rushed.
As Shaw and Cohen continue their preparations for the Championship, and on the eve of the fixture release, the pair spoke to ITV’s Chris Dawkes about what we can expect from the uncommon joint head coach situation.
Too Good To Turn Down
When asked if Skubala’s departure came as a surprise, Cohen replied:
“I think no. Any coach of any football club that gets 103 points is going to be sought after, and Michael was really good for us, so wish him all the best.“
“But when we got the opportunity with Jez, Liam and Ron as owners, they gave us the opportunity to be the head coaches of an unbelievable football club; we were never going to turn it down.“
“We’re really excited to work together and try to keep the club moving forward.“
It’s an unusual move to appoint two head coaches, akin to Liverpool bringing in Gerard Houllier to work alongside Roy Evans at the turn of the century, but Shaw believes he and Cohen have the type of relationship that will make it work.
“We have been working side by side for many years in our previous roles. We found our way of working has influenced this football team as well as taking us to where we are now, so that’ll continue.“
The Trust Is Key
“We check and challenge each other all week, pick holes in each other’s ideas until we land on the idea and then at that point we are hell-bent right behind it as the right thing to do, and we have a nice bank of evidence that works.”
“We trust each other massively on and off the training pitch, and that’ll be the same moving forward, using each other’s strengths getting the best out of the players, and there are two of us driving them every day, which I think will be useful.“
As with any partnership, Shaw and Cohen have disagreements, but they are well aligned to work through those.
When asked if they always agree, Chris Cohen said:
Of course, no! But yeah, we definitely have the same principles on and off the pitch. Like Tom said, if I come up with an idea, it’s Tom’s job to challenge it and vice versa.“
It’s All About The Process
Any disagreements the pair do have are resolved using a tried and tested process. Shaw continued:
“For every training session, we have an idea, we know what it wants to look like and feel like, especially for our opponents.“
“So, we go along a process, a thorough process, it takes a couple of days, and we will have different ideas, but we know the end goal really needs to be.“
“We’ve lived that for a period of time, and it’ll be the same going into a very tough level, where we will respect the level, but we want no fear in these players.“
“We don’t wanna take one step back from anybody, so the amazing product we had in League One, we want to take into the Championship.“
Cohen revealed that even before their appointment, the two would be in regular contact, and that stands them in good stead on this new joint venture.
“We use each other as a sounding board. We give each other ideas, but most importantly, we trust each other, and that’s what gives this a really good chance of working.“
The fixtures are out tomorrow, and the Championship season is just seven weeks away, meaning the excitement levels are well and truly on the rise. City’s return to the second tier was already one of intrigue, but with not one but two men at the top, it promises to be a fascinating campaign.