Gillingham manager John Coleman admits he’s not looking forward to a return trip to his old club Accrington on Saturday.
While Coleman admits it will be an emotional return to a club that he led to four championship promotions and managed over 1,000 games, he doesn’t want the focus taken away from the job at hand.
The Gills still need wins to be mathematically sure of safety in League 2 – as do Accrington – and Coleman needs wins to get the job more permanently in the summer.
Coleman and his no.2 Jimmy Bell were sacked by Accrington a year ago, leaving the club when they were 16th in the division.
Speaking about his weekend return, Coleman said: “It will be (emotional) to be honest, I’m not going to lie about that. I’m not looking forward to it because I think it can take the focus off the game. I don’t want the focus to be taken off the game.
“Myself and Jimmy had an unbelievable time there, miles more good times than bad times, but we did have bad times along the way. I think that’s what makes the good times better.
“From when we first went there the club is in miles better shape and that’s down to a lot of hard work by a lot of people, not just myself and Jimmy.
“We were managing when we got all the promotions but there was a lot of people behind the scenes who’ve worked so hard to keep the club afloat, put their hard earned money in to keep it afloat.
“The new chairman has come in and took it to another level, Andy Holt. He’s got the infrastructure of the club right.
“He spent wisely with the players that we sold, with the ground (improvements) and the pitch, which is remarkable. Probably one of the best pitches in League 2. He’s done the right things. He’s got the right ducks in a row.
“The plan for Accrington will be to kick on. They’ve got a good infrastructure, a good ground. A welcoming ground. It’s a good place to go. It’s just something I’m not looking forward to. Differing emotions. It’s something you’ve got to do.
“People will make a lot of it. I’ve got lots of friends there. Myself and Jimmy had an unbelievable time there but our focus is on Gillingham now.
“People are saying, ‘we must be desperate to win’. I’m desperate to win just because I want to win every game we play. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing. I’ve never ever singled out a game to be more important than any other game apart from the next game. I want to win 100% every single time I play. Everything I play.
“We had a little bit of a mess about playing cricket (on Thursday) morning with (coaches) Del and Pete and I was desperate to bowl them out! You’ve got to have that mentality.”
It’s not the first time Coleman has been back to Accrington. In between his two spells there as manager, he had a year at Rochdale, winning 3-2 on a visit in October 2012.
The four promotions included taking the club into the Football League and then during their second spell in charge leading Stanley to the League 2 title, finishing the 2017/18 season above Luton Town and Wycombe Wanderers to take top spot.
Accrington had a couple of mid-table finishes during their five-year stint in League 1, suffering relegation in 2023. Coleman and Bell had been hoping for a new deal at the club but instead found themselves out of a job towards the end of last season.
Coleman admits he’s not spoken to his old chairman Mr Holt since leaving.
“No, I haven’t spoken to Andy Holt,” he said.
“People will ask me about losing my job. I’ve got no problem with that. Someone who puts a lot of money into a football club deserves the right to make the decisions that he has to make.
“Sometimes the ones he makes aren’t the popular ones. They’re probably the hardest ones but I’ve got no problem. Whoever pays the piper calls the tune. They’ve got the prerogative to call whatever tune he wants.”
Asked about the reception he’ll get, Coleman said: “I think I’ll get a good one from the fans. Obviously there’ll be a few fans who were glad to see the back of me and Jimmy but I still speak to some of the fans as well. I’ve got a good relationship with them. It’ll be good to see them.”
Coleman’s main focus will be a win for the Gills on Saturday – and securing his first away win since taking over as manager.
He said: “We’ve got to get our players as up for it as we can and to get the away win that our travelling fans deserve. There’s no-one who deserves it more than them with the numbers that they bring.”
