FORMER Queens Park Rangers boss Gareth Ainsworth has caused “shock and dismay” after quitting League One Shrewsbury Town for League Two Gillingham.
Ainsworth, 51, only took over the Shrews in November and has won five and lost twelve of his 22 games in charge as the side sit bottom of the table, fourteen points from safety.
The Gills are nineteenth and only appointed John Coleman in January, but decided to replace him after two wins in fourteen games.
Ainsworth is set to become Gillingham’s fifth manager in eighteen months after Neil Harris, Stephen Clemence, Mark Bonner and Coleman.
Shrews chairman Roland Wycherley wrote an open letter to fans on the club’s website on Tuesday afternoon.
It read: “I’m writing this open letter because I understand there is a lot of anger, worry and concern among supporters.
“As you will be aware from media reports this morning – and much to our shock and dismay – Gareth Ainsworth has informed us he wishes to leave the club after receiving an offer from a League Two club.
“First of all, I can confirm that the club has done absolutely everything in its power to persuade Gareth to stay.
“Failing that, we also asked if he would continue until the end of the season.
“Gareth’s contract contained a termination clause which the League Two club in question initially refused to meet.
We made clear from that point we would not allow him to leave and that we wanted him to honour the remainder of his contract.
“But Gareth made clear he wanted to leave immediately, despite acknowledging the position the club are in at this moment in time.
“At a board meeting yesterday afternoon, the League Two club had still refused to meet the termination clause.
“But at 4.41pm yesterday, STFC received confirmation that the club had agreed to pay the full termination fee for both Gareth Ainsworth and Richard Dobson.
“This took any further negotiations out of our hands – and Gareth and Richard once again expressed their desire to leave immediately.
“A few weeks ago, I sat down with Gareth and offered him a two-year contract extension regardless of our divisional status because, as a club, we were excited about the future with him at the helm.
“Gareth seemed pleased we made that offer and everyone was looking forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship.
“While we only received the final paperwork from the League Two club this afternoon, I would like to – as much as possible – reassure fans that we are already in discussion with suitable candidates for the head coach role.
“We are working really hard to have someone in place for Saturday.
“Once again, I fully understand why our supporters are feeling frustrated, confused and concerned.
“I can assure you, as a supporter myself, the current situation hurts me more than I can ever express.
“And with the club still in an exclusivity agreement regarding a potential takeover, we will keep you updated with events as they happen.”
