Justin Edinburgh sacked by Gillingham
Tuesday 3 January 2017 11:09, UK
Justin Edinburgh has been sacked as manager of Gillingham.
Monday's 1-0 loss at home to Oxford United was the Gills' second consecutive league defeat and saw them drop to 17th in the Sky Bet League One table.
Sky sources understand chairman Paul Scally met with Edinburgh on Tuesday morning and informed him of his decision.
Edinburgh's backroom staff of David Kerslake and Wayne Hatswell have also left the club.
In a statement released by the club, Scally said: "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."
Former Tottenham left back Edinburgh succeeded Peter Taylor as Gillingham boss in February 2015 and helped the club avoid relegation before leading them to a ninth-place finish last season.
The Gills were dumped out of the FA Cup in the first round when they were defeated 4-3 by non-league Brackley in November.
