It comes four weeks to the day since Neil Harris was removed from his role as manager. Gillingham currently sit 9th in League Two, ten points away from the top.
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00:00 What should fans take away from this presser that we heard, the first one we heard from
00:04 Stephen Clements today?
00:05 Well, it's exactly that. It's the first time that fans have been able to hear the press,
00:09 the media asking some questions to him and get a bit of an understanding of what kind
00:13 of character he is, what kind of outlook he has for the rest of the season ahead of him
00:18 and the kind of job that he has to take on. And also, some uncomfortable questions as
00:22 well to see how he deals with that because of course, the biggest criticism as we all
00:26 know of any sort of football manager or head coach, as he is known, is always from the
00:31 fans themselves. But, well, as we said yesterday and as you said, this is Stephen Clements'
00:37 first top job at a club but make no mistake, he is well versed in the football landscape
00:43 and really, from my observation, he seems absolutely keen to get started, a very optimistic
00:48 character and he's really looking forward to the season that he's got and the job that
00:52 he's got ahead of him.
00:53 Now, if you remember back at the start of this season, Gillingham were sort of primed
00:57 to be one of the top-flying clubs in League Two this season and really, as it's kind of
01:02 developed, they've fallen down from the top three and especially the last four weeks,
01:06 no permanent manager in place. It's definitely not been the highlight of the season so far.
01:13 But now, having Stephen in place, lots of fans will be hoping that this is the clarity
01:20 that they needed to move forward. So, I asked Stephen at the press conference what goals
01:25 he has for the season and where he would like the club to be at the end of it.
01:29 I think whatever club I've been at, it's about winning football matches. Now, I've been at
01:33 clubs in the Premier League where it's generally been about trying to stay in the league. I've
01:36 been at clubs in the EFL Championship and it's about trying to get promotion. Now, I
01:42 know where this club's at. I know it's not trying to stay in the league and I've got
01:45 to win football matches and that's what I'm going to try and do. I'm not going to make
01:48 any promises that we're going to be in a certain place come the end of the season. But that's
01:52 been my job all my life, to win football matches and that's what I will try and do now.
01:57 It's going to be his first time, Bartholomew. Is there an element of not knowing what's
02:01 to come?
02:02 I think it's an absolutely fair point to put forward. I've seen a few fans in the online
02:06 forums saying that. It's a manager, well it's a head coach rather, who's in his first managerial
02:12 spot. But as I said, he is well versed. You just have to look at his history and his bringing
02:16 up really. He is the son of Ray Clements, the former England goalkeeper, regarded as
02:22 one of the best England goalkeepers of all time. So he grew up around the top flight
02:26 of football. He played in the Premier League, he played for Tottenham, Birmingham City and
02:30 Leicester. And as well, he's been a coach under the guise of Steve Bruce, of course,
02:35 many know. He was kind of linked with the job himself, Steve Bruce, over the past few
02:39 weeks. Former Gillingham legend, went on to play at Manchester United. And yeah, he coached
02:46 with Steve Bruce at Sunderland, Hull City, Aston Villa, where he coached Jack Grealish.
02:51 And we know the career that Jack Grealish has gone on to have with England and Manchester
02:55 City. And he actually said in the press conference today that we can expect a few famous faces
02:59 to be in the stands at Priestfield as the season continues. But yeah, let's hear from
03:04 Steve and answering some of the questions. And of course, that key one about, is this
03:08 a risk for the club to be taking on a novice?
03:12 Every appointment is a risk. So there could be a very experienced League Two manager sitting
03:16 here right now who's got four promotions to his name and there's no guarantee he's going
03:21 to be successful. So all I can say is I've done my work, I've had a good career, I've
03:26 done over 400 games in the Premier League and Championship as an assistant manager.
03:32 I think I've done it the right way. So I haven't jumped straight into this. I'm ready to go.
03:37 I think if I'd never had a go at head coaching or management, I think it was something that
03:41 I would regret later in life. So this is the opportunity. I'm hoping I can, as I said yesterday,
03:49 make some good memories for the people of Gillingham. Something that we can all look
03:54 back on with a fondness.
03:57 And of course, all of this comes ahead of Gillingham taking on Hereford, the first FA
04:00 Cup game of the season for the club.