Former Lincoln City Midfielder Takes Over Relegation-Threatened Club

Former Lincoln City midfielder Shane Clarke has been appointed manager of Bourne Town and will take charge for the first time in Saturday’s FA Trophy tie against Bromsgrove Sporting.

Clarke succeeds Dan Flack, who stepped down on 1 November after four seasons with the Wakes. George Zuerner, who played for Lincoln United, Grantham Town and Spalding United, joins him as assistant manager.

Clarke holds a UEFA A Licence and worked with Zuerner at FCV Grace Dieu, where they won back-to-back promotions and lifted the Nottinghamshire Senior League Cup.

“We recognise the foundations already in place, but we also believe there is much more to achieve,” Bourne said in their announcement.

The Lincoln-born midfielder came through our centre of excellence and was one of five players to take up a scholarship at the start of the 2004/05 season, in the same intake as Jack Hobbs and Scott Loach. His second Football League appearance ended with a red card and a three-match ban after a late challenge on Mark Hudson in a 3-1 defeat to Rotherham United at Sincil Bank.

Clarke went on to make 75 appearances for the Imps, getting regular football under Peter Jackson before Chris Sutton placed him on the transfer list in 2010. He left by mutual consent that August and went on to play for Boston United, Gainsborough Trinity, Worksop Town and Tamworth among others.

There’s another familiar face at Bourne in Michael Bostwick, our Player of the Season when we won the League Two title in 2018/19. Bostwick has played for the Wakes this season, starting their 3-2 defeat to Mickleover on 20 October, and has yet to feature in November.

Bourne sit 20th in the Northern Premier League Midlands Division with 12 points from 15 games, four points behind Corby Town with three games in hand. They return to league action at home to Coventry United on Tuesday.

First comes Saturday’s second-round tie against Bromsgrove Sporting, which kicks off at 3 pm at Abbey Lawn. The Wakes reached this round for the first time by beating Banbury United 1-0 last month.