Tilson To Return As Director Of Football

In the latest change to the administrative structure of the club, former Lincoln City manager Steve Tilson is to return to Sincil Bank in the newly-created role of Director of Football.

Chairman Bob Dorrian has explained the reasoning behind the new role and why he has appointed a man whose previous stint with Lincoln City was far from successful.

“When we returned to the Football League last April, certain key areas had to be addressed if we were to re-establish ourselves successfully as a first-class football club. The appointments of Liam Scully and Richard Parnell represented important first steps in our journey from non-league football, but that is by no means the end of our genesis. We can only perform as an effective unit if key roles are created and the right people appointed to fill them, and it would be naive of us to believe that the job is ever done.

Following an interim review of our current operation at all levels, it has become increasingly apparent to the board that the club is in urgent need of direction on the playing side. This season has been disappointing in a number of ways, and we cannot allow the obvious momentum from last season to become dissipated in any way. We only need to consider the dire failings at Grimsby Town to realise the risks facing this football club, and we are not prepared to permit the club to rest on its laurels and continually hark back to its past. To that end, we are delighted to welcome Steve Tilson back to Lincoln City.

Whilst we appreciate that Steve’s spell as manager here did not go as expected, he has a wealth of experience in the game and has an excellent record in recent seasons. His success with Basildon Ladies is very attractive to us as we seek to develop the playing infrastructure further. It is vital that we support Danny and Nicky in every way possible, and Steve’s appointment will take some of the burden off their shoulders in the short term. Steve is very much at the forefront of current thinking in the game, and we are looking forward immensely to seeing some of his innovative ideas put into practice.

In terms of what the role entails, Steve will be in charge of overall football strategy and especially player recruitment. We feel that too much of Danny’s time is taken up with the search for players and negotiation of contracts. Steve will be responsible for managing our scouting network and identifying the right players to sign. It will be his job to engage with football agents and conclude transfer deals more effectively than we have been able to thus far. As the manager, it will then be Danny’s job to coach the players selected and signed by Steve, and to mould them into an effective team capable of taking us up the Football League pyramid.

Steve is a man who knows the club well and therefore will be able to hit the ground running. In due course, we also hope to take advantage of his impressive coaching skills. It would be negligent of us as a board of directors if we were to fail to capitalise fully on the talents of the personnel we have assembled at the club, and Steve has a lot more to offer than administration.”

It is not known when Tilson is expected to begin his role.