Former Lincoln City captain Luke Waterfall has joined Boston United as assistant manager, marking his move into coaching.
He has simultaneously retired from playing, cancelling his playing contract at Worksop Town in favour of a return to Lincolnshire.
As such, the 35-year-old has called time on his 18-year playing career, which included three magnificent seasons at Sincil Bank.
Waterfall preceded the arrival of Danny Cowley, signing from our fifth-tier rivals Wrexham in 2015. He scored six times in 36 National League appearances in Chris Moyes final year in Lincolnshire. Waterfall’s pivotal role in the side continued during the famous 16/17 campaign, captaining the Imps to National League glory and the incredible FA Cup run to the quarter-finals.
His presence was felt at both ends of the pitch, scoring seven times from centre-half, including the equaliser in the dramatic victory at Forest Green Rovers. That result has long been considered a turning point in the title race, and perhaps changed the course of our history since. However, his role wasn’t quite as prevalent in League Two, spending much of the early part of the season on the bench. Nevertheless, Waterfall still played an important role in the side, underlined by his involvement in the EFL Trophy success.
The 35-year-old played every minute of the Imps’ run to victory at Wembley, scoring the goal in normal time in the semi-finals against Chelsea U21s. He also played the full 90 minutes in both legs of the play-off semi-final against Exeter City, before moving to Shrewsbury Town in August 2018.
What’s The Situation At Boston?
The Pilgrims had been left without an assistant manager following the departure of Chris Doig to Northampton Town, who finished bottom of League One last season. Doig only joined Boston in January, alongside ex-Grimsby Town manager Paul Hurst, who remains in charge of the National League outfit.
Hurst and Waterfall’s paths have crossed several times before. The ex-Imp captained us to Wembley glory over Hurst’s Shrewsbury side in April 2018, before Waterfall signed for Salop that summer. However, Hurst had already moved on from Shropshire, enduring a disappointing spell in charge of Ipswich Town. Nevertheless, the pair spent a couple of seasons together in Cleethorpes, helping the Mariners win promotion back to the EFL.
Waterfall had dropped back into non-league football after leaving Grimsby, spending time at Hartlepool United and Worksop in the last few years. The Sheffield-born defender is familiar with our county, spending three years at Gainsborough Trinity earlier in his career. He then moved into League One with Scunthorpe United.
Our former captain isn’t the only man with Lincoln on his resume to feature for our Lincolnshire rivals, with Oisin Gallagher spending the 25/26 season on loan at the Jakemans Community Stadium. Boston once again performed considerably better in the second half of the campaign, achieving a top-half finish. With the National League looking more open next season, a more consistent output across the whole year could give Hurst’s side the chance to mount a genuine promotion charge.
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