Sky Bet League One side Gillingham have today confirmed that they have terminated the contract of manager Justin Edinburgh. Monday’s 1-0 home defeat to Oxford United proved to be the final nail in the coffin for the former Tottenham Hotspur defender, who had been in charge at Priestfield since February 2015.
Chairman Paul Scally stated that it was a ‘difficult decision’ to take given his close friendship with the 47-year-old, who had previously managed Newport County before making the move to Kent last year. He leaves the Gills with them sitting 17th in the League One table, eight points above the relegation zone and ten points off the final play-off position.
Edinburgh’s staff has also been told that their services will no longer be required as well. In a statement on the official club website on Tuesday morning, Scally eluded to the fact that this was not an easy decision to come to,
“Having returned to work yesterday, this is obviously a difficult decision to begin 2017 with.
“I have been very keen to work with Justin and his coaching staff, I have become close friends with them over the past two years, and that is what makes this decision even harder. I have great respect for them and everything they have done for the club.
“I’d like to express my gratitude to Justin for his efforts; he has tried extremely hard to turn things around. However, the form over the past 12 months has not been as good as expected, and yesterday’s defeat was the final straw.
“Nonetheless, Justin is a manager of great ability, and I have no doubt he will go far in football.”
No more comment will be coming out of the football club on the matter, with them fully focusing their energies on appointing a successor to Edinburgh. With Sky Bet, Steve Cotterill and Nigel Adkins have been installed as the joint-favourites for the role, although at quite a big 7/1 price, indicating there is no real strength in this particular betting market at this moment in time.
