Gillingham are closing in on appointing a new manager, it is being reported.
Gareth Ainsworth appears set to take over at the Gills from League 1 basement boys Shrewsbury.
While it remains unclear if Ainsworth will take charge immediately or at the end of this season, he could potentially become Gillingham’s third manager this term. Both clubs were yet to comment on the speculation as of on Tuesday morning.
The League 2 side started the campaign with Mark Bonner in charge before his exit in early January after a poor run over Christmas.
Former Wycombe Wanderers boss Ainsworth, 51, has only been in charge at Shrewsbury since November, taking over a side that was bottom of League 1.
Having won five and lost 12 of his 22 games in charge, a potential move to Kent would see him drop down a division.
In a stay at Wycombe that lasted more than a decade until his 2023 departure, Ainsworth led the club to the Championship for the first time in their history. Gills fans’ favourite Adebayo Akinfenwa famously played under him in the final stages of his career.
The news comes after Gillingham’s top scorer Jayden Clarke apologised over his “cryptic” social media post.
Clarke had fans questioning what was going on after he and defender Shadrach Ogie posted sand clock memes on their accounts this week. Neither player has been featuring in recent weeks under Coleman.
The 23-year-old responded when one fan questioned whether something was going on. The posts had some supporters wondering if it meant there was soon to be a management change.
In response to the questions, Clarke explained what he meant, writing: “Totally unintentional, emojis were more supposed to suggest patience and will be back soon rather then somethings happened. Apologies.”
Gillingham, in 19th, are due at Harrogate this weekend while Shrewsbury are scheduled to visit League 1 leaders Birmingham.
