Gillingham have sacked manager Steve Lovell just days after he secured their League One safety.
Lovell’s reign hasn’t seen the Gills impress on a regular basis, but with limited resources it was widely felt he was doing a decent job. In a division where any one of 13 or 14 teams could have been relegated at the beginning of April, finding a route to survival was certainly seen as an achievement.
He managed 91 matches for the club, taking them from second bottom in October of last season to whatever heights they finish this time around. It wasn’t always pretty and progress has been slow, but the club as a whole haven’t been throwing money at the issues.
They secured their League One status on the final day of last season with a wonderful 5-2 win against Plymouth, sparking hopes of an improvement this time out. with two games to go, safety has to be considered an improvement and again, a win against Plymouth, this time on Good Friday, has been key to staying up.
They’ve battled against a smaller budget than most and, in the main, Lovell did a decent job. they got the better of Premier League Cardiff in the FA Cup too, but were inconsistent after.
Mark Patterson now takes temporary charge with two games to go, with Steve Evans thought to be very much in the frame to take over as boss.
Our View
This is everything that’s wrong with modern football, or at least everything when it comes to loyalty. Lovell wasn’t the most successful manager, but he did do the job he was paid to do; keep Gillingham in the league.
The playing staff needs investment and Lovell, being a former hero on the field, was afforded a little more time than most by the fans.
The chairman didn’t see it the same way and now they face the spectre of Steve Evans, a failure in his last two management roles. Good luck Gills, you’ll need it.
