Gillingham appoint John Coleman until the end of the season after parting company with Mark Bonner after 28 games

GILLINGHAM have appointed John Coleman as their manager until the end of the season, after parting company with Mark Bonner earlier today.

 

Coleman, 62, who has previously managed Accrington Stanley and Rochdale, will take charge with immediate effect and will be joined by his long-term assistant, Jimmy Bell.

The pair’s first game in charge will be Saturday’s home game against Fleetwood Town.

Coleman has previously guided Accrington Stanley to promotion from League Two (2017-18), having also helped the club gain promotion to the EFL in 2026.

Gillingham managing director Joe Comper said in a statement: “I am delighted that John and Jimmy have agreed to join us.

“John brings a wealth of experience to the football club but, having met him, he retains a huge amount of hunger to be successful.

“He knows the league well, he is familiar with our group of players and has even managed a couple of them while with his previous club.

“We still have high hopes and a real belief that the season can end on a high with a good second-half of the campaign and I’m confident John and Jimmy are the people to make that happen.”

Bonner leaves Priestfield Stadium with the Gills in fourteenth-place in the EFL League Two table, with the club picking up 30 points (nine wins, three draws and 11 defeats) at the halfway stage of the campaign.

Gillingham are 10 points adrift of the play-offs and Bonner’s final game in charge of the club was to oversee a 3-0 home defeat to Andy Woodman’s Bromley three days ago.

Bonner arrived at the club in May 2024 following the departure of Stephen Clemence and was in charge of 28 games across all competitions.

“Mark is a top guy, a top professional and has given absolutely everything he could have given to help the club succeed,” added Mr Comper in his club website statement.

“We liked him from the moment we met him – and we still do, which makes this decision even tougher.

“The staff have thoroughly enjoyed working with him. However, we felt if we were going to achieve something this season with what we believe to be a very talented group of players, we needed to make a change to give us the best possible opportunity of getting to where we want to be, come the start of May.

“With regret we have decided to part company. I would like to place on record my thanks to Mark and I wish every success for the future.”

The Gills – who won nine and lost 15 games under Bonner - also confirmed the departure of assistant manager Anthony Hayes.

Visit Gillingham’s website: www.gillinghamfootballclub.com