As just revealed by the club, the gap left by Chris Cohen has been filled (Bridged, if you will) by a familiar face – David Bridges.
Bridges had a modest career as a player, mainly working with Cambridge United but also appearing for Kettering and Stevenage among others. He’s been a teammate of many former Imps, including Michael Bostwick, and he appeared twice against the Imps in the 2011/12 season for Kettering Town.
His coaching career has been a little more familiar to the Imps—he joined us in August 2018 as head of coaching and spent two-and-a-half years working for the club. You may not have realised this, but after Danny and Nicky left, he took first-team training with Tom Shaw and Jamie McCombe. At the same time, he was also an FA Affiliate Tutor Level 1,2 and UEFA B.
He left the club in February 2021 to become a coach developer at the PFA. That role included helping former professionals get their badges, as well as working with out-of-contract players. A post on his LinkedIn suggests he was recently working with Tomas Soucek, Michail Antonio, Thiago Silva and Marc Cucurella. Big names, all with respect for our new assistant head coach.
As I understand it, there was an interview process and despite David having links with us already, he was also Michael’s pick without that previous influence. It completes the first-team coaching staff, and brings a degree of familiarity, as he’s obviously worked extensively with the likes of Tom Shaw before.
I think David is that profile of coach that may not get fans thinking, ‘Oh wow,’ like Chris Cohen, but he brings such a diverse and extensive skill set to the role that he’ll be a huge asset. Often, what we think makes a great member of staff and what actually constitutes an asset are two different things. Often, fans want to see a name – Chris Cohen for instance. When a relatively unfamiliar name pops up, and there’s a lack of knowledge about that person, we may not fully appreciate what a strong appointment it is. I feel there’s evidence to suggest this is a strong appointment.
It is hard to get excited about an assistant head coach when we, as fans, don’t really understand coaching (we don’t, admit it). However, there are some huge benefits in David’s appointment. We’ve not taken someone with a history of working with someone else – I’m thinking Mike Garrity here, a man who was a big asset, but also jumped ship as soon as his mate put in a call. In David, I feel we might have a bit of stability, rather than a different assistant every six months or so.
Honestly, I think consistency really can be king – the teams I expect to do well in League One, in the main, are those who keep their spine consistent, who have a manager two or three years in the role, and where the coaching has been consistent and clear throughout. Our biggest asset isn’t a player (and we’ve got some good players), but it is our coaching. We saw that after January, and I hope today’s appointment will only help that get even better.
Welcome back, David.
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