Stephen Clemence has reached an agreement to take on the role of head coach for Gillingham.

Stephen Clemence has officially accepted a contract to lead League Two’s Gillingham as their head coach, marking his debut as a manager.

Clemence, the son of former England goalkeeper Ray, served as a member of his former Birmingham manager Steve Bruce’s coaching team at multiple clubs, such as Newcastle, Aston Villa, and Hull.

The 45-year-old individual will receive assistance from Robbie Stockdale, who was previously a coach at Sunderland. Stockdale recently led Rochdale during the 2021-2022 season and then went on to take on support positions at Hull and MK Dons.

Kenny Jackett, the head of football operations, has been in charge of finding a replacement for Neil Harris. Paul Scally, the previous chairman who still holds a small ownership stake and serves on the board, has also played a role in the search. Harris was fired from his position with the team ranked eighth in League Two.

This week, Brad Galinson, the majority owner of the American team, expressed his desire for the new head coach to implement an engaging playing style and downplayed the importance of managerial experience.

Galinson stated that the factors that are not included in the desired list are the team’s formation, previous coaching experience, age, Premier League coaching experience, assistant coaching experience, and experience in League One, Two, or the National League. These factors are considered secondary in making the formula successful.

Clemence served as Bruce’s assistant for a significant period of time. Bruce’s previous position was at West Brom. He was fired after eight months, even though he had an 18-month contract.

Clemence has taken over from Harris, who was removed from his position due to the club’s desire to “change direction”, a decision that came as a surprise largely due to their intention to alter the team’s playing style. Clemence will now hold the role of head coach, rather than manager.

Galinson stated this week that the individual we are hiring will have full responsibility for the first team, training, formations, and the technical area. However, they will not be responsible for recruiting and acquiring players, but rather will be a part of that process.

Alex Bruce, a former defender for Hull, has taken on his first managerial position at Macclesfield, a non-league team. He previously worked with his father at West Brom. Macclesfield is a seventh-tier team and their director of football is Robbie Savage. The team is considered a rebirth of Macclesfield Town, which was dissolved in 2020.

Source: theguardian.com