Gillingham are closing in on the shock managerial hire of current Shrewsbury Town boss Gareth Ainsworth, as the Gills begin to prepare for life in League Two once again next season.
The League Two side are currently playing without a long-term goal this season and have been without a manager since the departure of Mark Bonner back in January.
Ainsworth is set to become the clubs fourth-permanent manager since January 2022 and will be avoiding almost-certain relegation with Shrewsbury Town who currently find themselves bottom of the League One standings.
This is according to Sky Sports who have reported that Shrewsbury and Gillingham have struck a deal for Ainsworth to head to the League Two side, at least until the end of the campaign though no deal length has been reported.
Ainsworth to Gillingham
On paper, Gareth Ainsworth is a promotion-winning League Two manager with Wycombe Wanderers and even guided them up to the Championship.
Gillingham have had ‘big names’ in the past with the likes of Neil Harris and Steve Evans and it hasn’t seen them return to League One.
Ainsworth hasn’t managed to lift Shrewsbury out of the relegation zone, though he has picked up some impressive results including victory over runaway league leaders Birmingham City and promotion-chasing Wrexham.
He is set to see out the 2024/25 season with Gillingham, though that could be longer as no current deal agreement has been revealed.
How has Ainsworth fared at Shrewsbury?
Ainsworth joined Shrewsbury Town in November, following a year-long stint out of the game after his stint with Championship side Queen’s Park Rangers.
After beating Birmingham, Shrewsbury’s fortunes haven’t improved as he’s lost 12 of the 22 games he’s taken charge of, winning just five and averaging a win percentage of just 22.73%.
However, he had somewhat stabilised the League One side and appeared as though they could improve with a good summer recruitment and go again next season in the fourth tier.
Can he secure promotion next season?
Currently, Gillingham find themselves 19th in League Two, having taken just 43 points so far this season. The club are 13 points above the relegation zone and 16 points off the play-off places.
On paper, Gillingham have a good squad and are likely to further improve this summer, ensuring with Ainsworth they could push for promotion next season.
Ainsworth has promotion-winning experience in League Two with Wycombe Wanderers and knows how to build a stable side, even if the style of football isn’t necessarily the most pleasing on the eye.
It remains to be seen what sort of players he’ll look to bring in or the budget he’d have, but it does seem as though he’s been promised certain things for him to drop down a division prematurely.
Readers, what are your thoughts on this news?
