Gillingham next manager: Former Barnsley, Sheffield Wednesday and QPR men among early favourites

Following the end of the regular League Two season, the Gills moved quickly to make a change in the dugout. Stephen Clemence has been relieved of his duties and has been followed out of the door by his assistant Robbie Stockdale.

Clemence, a former assistant to Bruce at various clubs including Hull City, had only taken the reins in November. However, the club are now on the lookout for a new head coach capable of steering them to promotion from the fourth tier next season.

Gillingham’s director of football Kenny Jackett said: “We now begin the process of appointing a successor to Stephen and Robbie. We are identifying targets we believe could take this club forward and will be looking to make an appointment as quickly as possible, so the new management team can form an integral part of the squad building process straight away."

Sign up to our new Sports Editor’s TeamTalk newsletter available this week

Duff and Bruce are among the early BetVictor frontrunners, priced at 5/1. The former has been out of work since December, when he was dismissed by Swansea City. He had previously vacated his post at Barnsley to join the Swans but his time in Wales proved short-lived.

Bruce, on the other hand, has had a lengthy break from the game. His last tenure came to an end in October 2022, when he was relieved of his duties at West Bromwich Albion.

Both sit level behind the early favourite Gareth Ainsworth, who started the 2023/24 season in charge of Queens Park Rangers. He was replaced as R’s boss by Marti Cifuentes, who has successfully steered the club to Championship safety.