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‘I give up’ – Gillingham fans unhappy as club name caretaker manager

Gillingham fans have been left unhappy as their club name a caretaker manager following the departure of Steve Evans this week.

Former Gills boss Steve Lovell has returned to lead the League One club on a “short-term basis” with 61-year-old previously leading the side from 2017 to 2019.

He had most recently been in charge of National League South side Welling, before resigning in September following a dismal start.

CLUB STATEMENT:

The Football Club can provide an update to its supporters ahead of Saturday’s game at home to Burton Albion.

The club can confirm that Chairman Paul Scally met with senior members of staff, and a number of senior players, at the stadium this morning at 0830 before addressing the entire squad at 0930 to discuss the week ahead.

There, it was unanimously agreed that the Chairman should try and bring someone in to help on a short-term basis, to run the game on Saturday, and everyone was happy for Steve Lovell to come in and offer his support.

He met the team at the training ground, and he will assist as much as he can while a permanent replacement is found.

Steve will be assisted by Alex MacDonald; they will prepare the team ahead of Saturday’s visit of Burton Albion.

FAVOURITES TO REPLACE STEVE EVANS:

– Neil Smith: 1/2
– Steve Lovell: 6/1 (caretaker)
– Marc Bircham: 6/1
– Neil Harris: 8/1
– Andy Woodman: 14/1
– Michael Flynn: 16/1
– Paul Cook: 25/1

Interview: Neil Smith on Tonbridge Angels | Bromley Football Club

MORE ON NEIL SMITH’s MANAGERIAL CAREER:

Smith was appointed joint caretaker manager of Woking in March 2007 with Graham Baker following the departure of Glenn Cockerill, helping the club to stay in the Conference National.

On the 4th of May 2007, after failing to get the job full time, Smith was let go by Woking following the appointment of Frank Gray as manager, then two weeks later he was appointed as the new manager of Conference South team Welling United following the departure of Adrian Pennock to Stoke City. He held the job until the 7th of January 2008, when he was sacked. Shortly after this he signed for Bromley as a player.

Smith joined Grays Athletic as part of their coaching staff on the 21st of February 2008, then joined Tim O’Shea, with whom he worked with at Grays, at Croydon Athletic as a coach and again followed O’Shea to Lewes as his assistant. Following Lewes’s relegation he re-joined Bromley at the start of 2011–12 as part of the coaching staff. Following the departure of Mark Goldberg in February 2016, Smith took over the role on an interim basis. On the 4th of April, after a successful run of games, Smith signed a two-year contract to become the club’s new first team manager.

In March 2021, he was sacked by Bromley after more than five years in charge and oversaw 225 games as boss, leaves with the club seventh in the National League.

Smith, who led Bromley to their first Wembley appearance when they reached the 2018 FA Trophy final, led the club to 10th, ninth and 12th-placed finishes in his full seasons in charge before the club ended last season 13th on average points per game.

In a statement Smith said: “I still believed we could have finished in the playoffs, given we’re now in 7th place, and I am disappointed I couldn’t finish what I felt I had started this season.

“I’m also proud that since I became manager in 2016, we have established ourselves in the National League, competing with some big clubs and often getting the better of them.

“Those victories over the likes Leyton Orient and Notts County to name but two were certainly amongst the highlights of my time at the club.

“Of course though, my proudest moment is leading the club to the FA Trophy Final at Wembley Stadium in 2018, and taking 20,000 wonderful supporters to back us on the day, which certainly made it even more memorable. It was an incredible sight to walk out and see them all there.”

Gillingham currently sit 22nd in the third tier, picking up 18 points from 24 games, however find themselves seven points from safety.

The club are currently on a run of 13 matches without a win, so a victory at home to Burton Albion is vital for them.

But as mentioned, Gillingham fans are unhappy as the club name their caretaker manager, see what was tweeted below…

@GKSimmo: I give up. Scally doesn’t care, so why should we. #ScallyOut #Gills

@chrisrainbow78: Chairman couldn’t run a bath. I’ve been a regular since 89 and I’ve lost interest.

@tsymesy: Jesus fucking wept

@rocketron1312: Enough is enough! SCALLY OUT! You have NOT invested in our club for years, you are running our club into the ground. Do us ALL a favour Scally & sell up, you haven’t got a clue what you see doing, you’re just here to earn an easy buck. Your fault, no one else’s..

@GrumpyBolloxUK: Oh FFS. This is like faulty fucking towers

@mattyboi1991: What this means is your here till end of season. We go managerless for a month so scally can buy another car then he will reappoint Lovell cheap for league 2 campaign and pledge poverty again

@alexgress: hahahahahaha fucking helllllllll we are so tinpot it’s unbelievable 🤣

@danielmaclorg: What a joke!!!!

@rocketron1312: Enough is enough! SCALLY OUT! You have NOT invested in our club for years, you are running our club into the ground. Do us ALL a favour Scally & sell up, you haven’t got a clue what you see doing, you’re just here to earn an easy buck. Your fault, no one else’s..

@mattyboi1991: What a joke. In other words scally has a puppet again

@KatieW14: What an absolute joke of a club #gills

@willjacques2806: This club ant serious 🤣🤣

@ellaclaytonn: As in the manager who apparently walked out before Evans and a player who is out for the season. Dear god this club is a shambles. Best of luck to Lovell and Macca, you’ll both need it…

@DomGFCBallard: Nothing against Lovell whatsoever, but this just sums up how tinpot we are. A trademark Scally card bringing in someone who’s adored by fans in the hope it gets the heat off his back for a bit again. Club is an absolute farce. Embarrassing

@joshcm21: I’ve paid like no attention to the Gills since being at uni but I swear they just appoint the same 4 people as manager in a never ending circle.

@louishart_: “Hi Alex, you’re out for the rest of the season. To put you to good use, how do you fancy being assistant manager?”

@StockyD_14: What an absolute shit show we actually are.. #Gills #gfc

@EJTaylor99: I genuinely believe we are the funniest club in the country

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