Gillingham legend Steve Bruce hopes his old team are heading back in the right direction and is intrigued to see how they progress.
Bruce played over 200 games for the Gills at the start of his professional football career and it’s a club he remains fond of.
He’s currently in charge at League 1 Blackpool, ending the season with a 4-1 win over relegated Bristol Rovers.
The Gills have now spent the last three seasons in the bottom tier of the Football League, but US owners the Galinsons have spoken about their desire to ‘wake the sleeping giant’.
Bruce said: “They are the only professional club in Kent, so they have got a big catchment area.
“I will always be intrigued to see what sort of fanbase it would muster if it ever got up to the Championship, but I can understand where the owners are coming from.
“It has been sleeping for a long time. Let’s hope they can get somewhere higher up the pyramid.”
Bruce joined the Gills as an apprentice after a number of north-east sides had rejected him, including Newcastle and Sunderland.
Gills’ head of youth at the time, Bill ‘Buster’ Collins, converted Bruce from a midfielder to a centre-back, where he thrived, playing for England under-18s at the European Championships and becoming a mainstay in Gillingham’s team.
He eventually moved to Norwich City in 1984 and three years later joined Manchester United.
Bruce said: “Gillingham gave me a chance when I was a schoolboy – I ended up signing for Gillingham, 330 miles away from Newcastle, where I lived.
“I couldn’t have gone any further away, and it was a special little club, which will always mean something to me.
“Bill Collins, the youth team manager at the time, was an inspiration that any young player needed to succeed. He was terrific with me, and I keep in touch with his family now.
“These are great memories and they’ll always be special to me.”
Bruce, 64, moved into management where he’s enjoyed promotions at Birmingham City and Hull City, working for much of his time in the dugout with Stephen Clemence as his assistant.
Clemence had six months in charge of the Gills and later went onto manage at Barrow but left halfway through this past season after their early promise faded away.
Bruce said: “It is a learning curve. Hopefully he gets another opportunity and gets a chance. I am sure Stephen Clemence will bounce back.”
Gillingham’s 17th place finish in the League 2 table means they’re watching from afar as clubs battle it out in the play-offs, which get under way this weekend. For the latest odds head to Sky Bet…
