Tom Shaw has reflected on his Lincoln City pathway from Lead Professional Development Phase Coach to joint head coach of the first team.
Arriving at the Imps following our first season back in the EFL, Shaw has been part of our setup during two promotions and some of the best times in City’s history.
His personal journey has been incredibly special, too. After playing under Jez George at Cambridge United, the pair have both enjoyed incredible success with Lincoln in the past eight years.
Following his success with the academy, Shaw progressed with the senior side as a first-team coach and, most recently, assistant to Michael Skubala. Speaking exclusively to The Stacey West, Shaw gave an open answer when asked if he expected to end up as Imps’ head coach when he joined in 2018.
“Probably not,” Shaw claimed. “This is an incredible opportunity for us, and we’re both incredibly grateful. My journey at this club has just been perfect. The support and the challenges I’ve had have just been pitched perfectly along the way. I’ve had some amazing experiences in recent times with the first team staff that prepared me for this role alongside Chris [Cohen].
“At this football club, there are so many staff and players who have had journeys like this. The club creates these brilliant pathways, which are done brilliantly. You’re constantly being pushed to grow and develop, and then here I am. There are a number of staff who could talk about opportunities, and it’s really difficult to leave.
“Look at the bus parade. Everywhere we go, you bump into people on holiday from the football world who talk about Lincoln’s fans, the 617 Squadron. There’s a real admiration for our club, how it’s run and the fan base, so that’s why we’re here.”
Cohen has had a different path in his journey to becoming the joint head coach of Lincoln. He has twice departed the Imps, but has been drawn back to Sincil Bank on both occasions. After working with his former Yeovil Town teammate Nathan Jones at Luton Town and Southampton, the 39-year-old became a permanent figure with City in the second half of the 23/24 campaign.
He briefly departed for Stoke City, joining up with then Potters head coach Steven Schumacher. But after the current Bolton Wanderers head coach was swiftly sacked early in the 24/25 season, Cohen promptly returned to Lincoln at the end of 2024, where he has remained ever since.
Like his fellow head coach, Tom Shaw, Cohen made an honest admission when he joined the Imps for the first time.
“Both times I’ve left, the club have known about that when I walked in. We’ve had an idea of what and how that would look like. There are loads of different things involved, like my career and home life.
“But coming back this time was coming back for good, to try and help the club the best I could. I had someone standing next to me who I think is elite at what he does. Tom [Shaw] knows about the pathways that the club creates for players, coaches, and other members of staff.
“It’s just the whole togetherness of the football club, including the fan base. We’ve seen and felt it through the good and the bad times over the last few years. Internally, our remit was to try to get the club into the next division. Our job now is to try and continue that progress, the best we can.”
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