Gareth Ainsworth believes there’s a chance to ‘build something special’ at Gillingham after making his shock exit from Shrewsbury Town.
The 51-year-old had only taken the reins at the League One Shrews in mid-November after just over a year out of the dugout, replacing Paul Hurst.
Despite a surprise 3-2 home win against Birmingham City in his first game in charge, the former Wycombe Wanderers and Queens Park Rangers boss was unable to lead Salop out of the relegation zone and he departed on Tuesday with the club remaining bottom – and 14 points from safety.
Yet his sudden departure to lowly League Two side Gillingham on a deal until the end of the 2026-27 season still caused consternation.
Special
In a video interview on the Gillingham website, Ainsworth explained that he and his long-term assistant Richard Dobson had been approached by the Gills when they were out of work last summer, but they had something else in the pipeline at the time, which ultimately didn’t happen.
He said that was the background to the Kent club’s renewed effort to appoint him and Dobson followed unsuccessful stints for ex-Cambridge boss Mark Bonner and former Accrington Stanley manager John Coleman this term.
“Gillingham approached Shrewsbury for permission to speak to me and speaking to Brad and Shannon (Galinson, Gillingham owners), it all came from there,” he said.
“It’s a move that excites me because there’s a plan in place for the next two years.
There’s a journey in place and a real outline of what they want to do.
“I played against them in the Championship, League One and League Two and I feel the club has underachieved for a couple of years.
“The structure and how they want to do things is all in place.
“There’s a chance to build something special and I want to have a go at that.”
Frustration
The former QPR and Wycombe winger understands there will be some frustration at Shrewsbury about his move, but only had good things to say about the Shropshire club.
“Shrewsbury came in for me and it felt great,” added Ainsworth, who said that it was a bonus that he would now be able to live at home again.
“It’s a fantastic club and it means a lot to me, though I know there are people probably watching this shouting at the screen now.
“The chairman is a great guy and they are trying to get some investment in.
“It’s set up for some good things.”
In an open letter to supporters, Shrewsbury chairman Roland Wycherley said the club had done ‘absolutely everything in its power’ to persuade Ainsworth to stay.
“I can assure you, as a supporter myself, the current situation hurts me more than I can ever express,” he said.
EAGER: Michael Appleton
Energised
Salop responded quickly by appointing the experienced Michael Appleton as head coach for the remainder of the season.
The 49-year-old, who led Oxford to promotion from League Two in 2015-16, has been out of the dugout since leaving Charlton in January last year.
“I didn’t expect the phone call and the conversation that I had,” admitted Appleton.
“It’s an added bonus for me.
“Hopefully that will work in favour of the football club.
“I’m energised and ready to go again.
“And I’m sure getting closer to that ninth game there’ll be a discussion of what that looks like after that.”
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