Gillingham Owner - His Search For A New Manager

Gillingham owner Brad Galinson has spoken about his search for a new manager and what qualities he is looking for.

As at Wednesday afternoon there is still no news of a deal but Galinson said 'we are pretty much there'. Whether someone new will be in the dug-out at Hereford on Saturday remains to be seen.

“We wanted to make sure the manager realises it is the players first, not the manager first,” said Galinson.

 

“Specifically, he cares about things like ‘are they married, do they have children, where do they live, how can they be a better player, do they need to an arm around them or do they need to be told directly’, very much a player-first organisation.

 

“Secondly, we wanted to make sure the culture and the personality of the manager fits very specifically with what we are trying to build at Priestfield; transparency, collaboration, communication, very open, very group setting, one club and one vision, and we happily and transparently work together.

 

“As well as honesty and personality, someone that can smile and joke and realise this is the best job in the world, that in the end we want to win but we want to have fun doing it. We wanted to make sure the personality and the culture of the manager really fits the kind of people we have.

 

“The third is the playing style. We wanted to make sure that naturally, the person we appoint is above all brave, courageous, takes risks, is front-footed, expansive, entertains and wins at the same time.

 

“Obviously sometimes you have to use direct football but we want to build something that is a bit more brave and courageous. We wanted to make sure the manager naturally thinks that way and plays that way, without even being told, that is just the way they think.

 

“The last one is very important. I wanted the hardest-working guy in the stadium, the manager who stays late because he can’t stop thinking about his passion for football and formations and how we are going to take on the next team.

 

“He is the first one to come in in the morning and the last one to leave, because that is his personality, he loves the game, that is his life and he would do it for free, he doesn’t need to be paid, that kind of guy.

 

“We started with looking at all of the above criteria, they could be American, Portuguese, Spanish, French, English, Premier League, never coached before, etcetera, what we did is try and get the best person.”