It potentially came as somewhat of a surprise when Stephen Clemence was relieved of his duties as Gillingham boss following the commencement of the season.
He wasn’t exactly given that long as the Gills’ head coach either, only overseeing 30 League Two games with the club since his appointment at the start of November. Expectations were high after he replaced former manager Neil Harris and its hard to say that the players really progressed under Clemence.
Ultimately, missing out on the play-offs would cause Clemence to lose his job, with Gillingham finishing in 12th yet just six points off of the play-offs. His points-per game (PPG) in charge of the club was simply not good enough however, averaging just 1.3 PPG during his tenure.
A fine player during his playing days, Clemence, the son of former England international goalkeeper Ray Clemence, would appear for the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Birmingham City and Leicester City during a 13-year professional career.
It would be with Birmingham where he enjoyed his most successful spell, making 135 appearances for the club during a four-and-a-half season stay, over 100 of those coming in England’s top flight. Quite the asset at the time, Clemence was highly-rated during his spell with the Blues but did however struggle with injury at times.
Injury issues would continue for the now 46-year-old after joining Leicester and he’d be forced to retire at 32. He’d however stay in the game first as a youth team coach at Hull City prior to moving onto Aston Villa as a first-team coach.
After a mixed bag in his first senior role as Gillingham manager, it seems as if Clemence has quickly found himself a new opportunity, with Pete O’Rourke reporting on Twitter (X), that the former Birmingham player has agreed a deal to become Barrow’s new manager.
Earlier in the week, it was announced that Barrow manager Pete Wild had left his post and it seems as if the club have wasted no time to find a replacement. Although it may not have gone his way at Gillingham, Clemence has plenty of potential as a manager and could excel with the Bluebirds.
Writer’s View
It could be deemed a harsh decision by Gillingham to sack Clemence at the end of the season given he wasn’t exactly allowed much time to improve the squad. Nonetheless, the club believed he had ample enough time and improvements were not seen.
His time as a player will certainly serve him well as a manager and the former Blues man may well count on previous experiences to help him in his new role. Although the loss of Wild is a rather large one, Barrow will expect to be challenging for the play-offs next term.
With Clemence they could well do that but their recruitment will need to be spot-on ahead of what looks to be a wide-open League Two season.
Senior Editor
