Gillingham’s former managers Stephen Clemence and Neil Harris have both offered their support to the club’s new boss Mark Bonner.
Harris was sacked by the Gills in October and ironically replaced Bonner at Cambridge the following month before ending the season at Millwall. Clemence was let go by Gillingham last Monday.
The new manager at Gillingham welcomed the approach from the pair who will have plenty of insight into the group of players he’s inherited.
Bonner said: “There were a couple of versions of the Gillingham team last year because of the changes that were made and I am due to speak to Neil and Steve, both reached out to me and wished me well.
“They have offered their support to give me some help, which is great, to try and pick their brains on their experiences which will help me as I try and gather a picture of how everything looks and where I want to take things.”
For Bonner, he wasn’t surprised that both Clemence and Harris had made contact.
He said: “It is nice but people wouldn’t really understand because if you are outside of that circle of the game, it would feel like it is incredibly competitive and there are very few jobs and it is why I am so proud to be here.
“There are very few jobs and so many good people that want them and when you get one it is an amazing opportunity and you have got to fight like anything to keep hold of it and make a success of it.
“Actually, the camaraderie between everyone in it is exceptional. Unless you have done it you don’t know how hard it is.
“There is real empathy and it makes the relationship between managers very strong.
“Everyone does look out for each other and they know the cycle of the game means sometimes you’re in it, sometimes you’re out of it, but I think you are foolish if you don’t take advice and use other people’s experiences.
“You can decide what to do with it, but it is important to gather that so I was grateful for them reaching out. I think it shows a bit of class.
“The way to go is to take that advice on, as well as everyone else’s, but ultimately I am in charge of making the decisions and it will be a gathering of that information and making more right [decisions] than wrong ones.”
Harris ended the season at Championship side Millwall where he enjoyed a great finish to the season, winning five games on the trot to steer the club away from relegation trouble and finish in 12th position.
Bonner has had a whirlwind few days since agreeing to become Gills manager on Monday and sorting out the formalities on Tuesday. On Thursday he was on media duty with the local press and will continue to familiarise himself with the club in the coming days.
The club’s retained list is expected to be released early next week.
He said: “Obviously, lots of correspondence has gone on prior to me, with Joe (Comper, managing director) and Kenny (Jackett, director of football) and players and agents.
“Over time I will get around to speaking to everybody but it is about trying to set priorities and what is the most important thing.
“The most important thing is the team, so where are we with retention, where are we with potential recruits, because the more aggressive and the earlier we can go on that, the better situation we will find ourselves in. That is priority number one.”
