Lancaster City seek new manager after Chris Willcock departs

The 55-year-old's exit was confirmed on Monday after the Dolly Blues suffered a third successive defeat, 1-0 at Hyde United.

A club statement reads: “Lancaster City FC can confirm that Chris Willcock has left his position as first-team manager by mutual consent. Chris joined the Dolly Blues in January 2024 and in the second half of the 2023/24 season guided us to ninth place, our highest finish in the English pyramid since 2007.

“Chris' backroom staff of Lincoln Adams and Warren Nolan have also left the club. The club would like to place on record its thanks to Chris, Lincoln and Warren for their hard work and dedication during their time with us, and we wish him all the best.

“The process of identifying a new manager is underway and further updates will be provided in due course. We ask that everyone continues to show their support for the team as we move forward in this transitional period.”

Former Workington and Stalybridge Celtic boss Willcock had overseen a major dip in form since the turn of the year. The 14th-placed Dolly Blues have won only two of their 10 league games in 2025, losing six, and stand five points above the relegation zone with nine to play.

Speaking to the club's media team for the final time after the loss at Hyde, Willcock said: “I thought we were off the pace. We had far too many players missing training this week for various reasons and we were not ourselves at all.

“We huffed and puffed but were disjointed in the final third and did not pass as well as we can. We didn't get going in the second half and after the sending-off (Dylan Thompson) it was always going to be difficult.

“A little bit of soul-searching is required from us all. Hyde were the better side, in the first half in particular, and it was a frustrating day all round. We are missing a number of key players and it looks like Lewis (Coulton) could be long-term as well.

“We didn't have the fluidity we had in previous games, so I share everybody's concerns. Since New Year our form hasn't been good enough and you end up going the wrong way in the table.”

Lancaster visit third-bottom Basford United on Saturday.