Wasn't he Paul Cook's No 2 for quite a while? Or am I mistaking him with someone else? If so, the he was quietly credited with being the biggest reason for their success, including at least two promotions and was sponsible for much of the coaching and style of play.
Ref: his time at Wigan then sometimes you have to adapt and adopt a style of play based on the players you have, so if strong & direct is the way, then so be it.
Fair to say Paul Cook has had little or no success since that partnership broke up. Not saying I want him as the next Lincoln manager, but feel he is possibly being unfairly labelled and written off.