Lincoln’s joint head coaches, Tom Shaw and Chris Cohen, hope Championship rivals underestimate ‘amazing squad’

The last thing the Championship needs is another spying scandal, so when a lorry emblazoned with KGB parked up alongside Lincoln City’s training ground on Tuesday lunchtime there was laughter as staff pondered whether the Soviet Union was examining their set pieces. It shows the relaxed atmosphere at one of the second tier’s newest clubs, one that has had a summer of change yet maintained continuity by appointing joint head coaches.

Tom Shaw and Chris Cohen have replaced Michael Skubala, who led the Imps to 103 points and promotion back to this level after 65 years away before leaving for Bristol City. It was a symbiotic appointment because while the former assistants were devising a sales pitch to the club’s hierarchy, the wheels were already in motion to promote from within. Their plan is to banish English football’s memories of Liverpool’s ill-fated pairing of Roy Evans and Gérard Houllier. The duo are doing final preparations for Saturday’s season opener at the Riverside against Middlesbrough, who have spent more than £20m on summer signings – Lincoln have spent a quarter of that across their 142-year history, indicating the task ahead.