Boston United: Pilgrims’ progress
Boston United’s second season back in the National League felt like a club taking a proper breath.
The first year was about survival, and survival was achieved the hard way. The second was about proving they could live at the level with a bit more control. By the end of 2025/26, that box had largely been ticked.
A move from 19th to 12th showed clear progress. The points return only rose from 55 to 59, but Boston changed. They became harder to beat, lost fewer games, and looked less like a side fighting the table. By the end, they looked more like one beginning to belong in it.
There were signs of character too. Boston often found a way back into games, even when the afternoon started badly. They trailed at half-time 11 times, yet avoided defeat in five of those matches. The away record against the top seven was even more striking. Three wins, two draws and only two defeats showed they could trouble the division’s best. Their 38 away goals also underlined that threat, with only five of the top six scoring more on the road.
And there was change. Graham Coughlan departed in January, with Boston still glancing nervously over their shoulder. His great escape in 2024/25 will not be forgotten in Lincolnshire.
Paul Hurst returned, and the season quickly took on a different feel. The question now is whether the Pilgrims can continue that progress across a full campaign.
From the dugout
The dugout story now feels less about change itself and more about what Paul Hurst can build with a full summer.
Chris Doig’s departure to Northampton Town removes a trusted figure from the staff, but Luke Waterfall’s appointment as assistant manager fits the theme. Hurst knows him well, and Waterfall brings serious National League credibility after captaining promotion-winning sides at both Lincoln City and Grimsby Town. That is useful experience for a Boston side trying to move from survival and stability towards something more ambitious.
Manager Profile
Paul Hurst’s return is not just a romantic reunion. It is a serious football appointment.
His first spell at Boston brought real success. Working alongside Rob Scott, above, Hurst helped the club win three trophies in 2009/10, including promotion through the UniBond Premier League play-offs. Their departure to Grimsby Town in 2011 was not without awkwardness, but the relationship with the club endured, and his return feels like a line drawn under the past.
Since leaving Boston, Hurst has built one of the stronger managerial CVs outside the top divisions. He took Grimsby Town out of the National League twice, winning promotion in 2016 and again in 2022. At Shrewsbury Town, he led the club to both the League One play-off final and the EFL Trophy final in 2017/18, earning League One manager of the year along the way.
Hurst’s immediate impact last season was impressive. In his 20 games after returning, including one National League Cup tie, Boston won nine, drew six and lost five.
Summer Mood
Boston’s summer feels more settled than this time last year, mainly because Paul Hurst has now had a proper look under the bonnet. The jump from 19th to 12th changed the conversation, and the way they finished the season gave the club something to build from.
There is growing hope that Boston can edge closer to the play-off conversation, but there are still questions to answer. Jacob Hazel’s goals have gone, Zak Mills’ departure removes a long-serving leader, and Chris Doig moving on changes the staff dynamic around Hurst.
Squad
Boston’s squad now looks much more like a Paul Hurst group: younger in places, heavier in midfield, and built with a clear emphasis on energy, mobility and players who can grow into the level. The age profile is a big part of that. Most of the squad sits in that 19–25 bracket, which should suit a manager who wants intensity, discipline and players willing to take on detail quickly, while Gavan Holohan, Michael Kelly and Lenell John-Lewis add the experience around it.
Holohan brings leadership and promotion know-how, while Terrell Agyemang, Jack Holmes, Nicholas Pozo and Alex Lankshear give Hurst plenty of midfield options.
At the back, George Ward, Lewis Shipley and Kai Mauro add freshness alongside Connor Teale, Kelly, Ben Grist and Jacob Scott. The obvious question is whether there is enough proven firepower beyond Tom Cursons, Connor McBride and John-Lewis, but the squad already feels more balanced, more athletic and more clearly aligned to what Hurst wants. This is no longer just the group he inherited; it is becoming his.
Retained
- Tom Cursons | Forward | Age 22
- Ben Grist | Defence | Age 21
- Dylan Hill | Midfield | Age 22
- Lenell John-Lewis | Forward | Age 37
- Michael Kelly | Defence | Age 28
- Alex Lankshear | Midfield | Age 23
- Arjan Raikhy | Midfield | Age 23
- Jacob Scott | Defence | Age 20
- Connor Teale | Defence | Age 23
- Louis Chadwick | Goalkeeper | Age 23
Players in
- Gavan Holohan « Hartlepool United | Free Transfer | Midfield | Age 34
- Nicholas Pozo « Lincoln Red Imps | Free Transfer | Midfield | Age 21
- Kai Mauro « Cadiz | Free Transfer | Defence | Age 19
- Terrell Agyemang « Morecambe FC| Free Transfer | Midfield | Age 23
- George Ward « Buxton FC | Undisclosed Fee | Defence | Age 24
- Jack Holmes « Rotherham United | Free Transfer | Midfield | Age 24
- Connor McBride « Rochdale AFC | Free Transfer | Forward | Age 25
- Lewis Shipley « Barrow | Free Transfer | Defence | Age 22
- Luke Faxon « Sheffield United | Six-month loan | Goalkeeper | Age 21
- Ben Hammond « Nottingham Forest | Free transfer | Midfield | Age 22
Players out
- Luca Barrington » Released
- Matty Carson » Solihull Moors | Free Transfer
- Marcel Lavinier » Released
- Liam McCarron » Released
- Zak Mills » King’s Lynn Town | Free Transfer
- Manni Norkett » Released
- Greg Sloggett » Released
- Jacob Hazel » Chester FC | Free Transfer
- Frankie Maguire » York City | Undisclosed Compensation Fee
- Jordan Richards » Scunthorpe United | Free Transfer
- Liam Waldock » Worksop Town | Season Long Loan
- Kieren Donnelly » Tamworth FC | Undisclosed Fee
One to Watch
Gavan Holohan is the one. Cursons may get opportunity and Raikhy has the technical upside, but Holohan feels like the player who can change the level of the team quickest. The connection with Hurst is obvious: he played under him at Grimsby, came into that side during the 2021/22 run-in, and was part of the team that went up through the National League play-offs. Add in his earlier promotion with Hartlepool and he arrives with exactly the sort of experience Boston need after losing Hazel’s goals and Mills’ leadership. If Holohan becomes the midfield reference point — setting standards, managing games and adding that bit of streetwise control — Boston should look far more like a Hurst side over a full season.
Bookies’ odds
Boston are 150/1, which places them well away from the promotion favourites but not in obvious panic territory either.
Prediction — 12th
With five of last season’s top seven still in the division and likely to remain strong, plus Harrogate and Barrow coming down with play-off ambitions, mid-table feels the sensible call. Boston should be steadier under Hurst, but a major leap looks difficult from here.
