League One: Gillingham have decided to part company with manager Peter Taylor
Wednesday 31 December 2014 14:43, UK
League One Gillingham have announced that manager Peter Taylor has been sacked.
The Gills are currently 20th in the standings, just one place and two points clear of the drop zone, and they were defeated 3-1 at home by leaders Bristol City on Sunday.
They had won two of their three League One matches prior to the weekend but that spell followed a run of just one win in 11 League games and the Kent club have now decided on a change of leadership ahead of their next fixture on Saturday.
A short statement on the club’s website read: “Peter Taylor has been relieved of his duties with immediate effect.
“The chairman has asked the coaching staff to assist Andy Hessenthaler (the assistant manager) with this weekend's game against Port Vale.”
Taylor lost just two of his last nine matches in all competitions but will depart after 14 months in charge.
The 61-year-old also managed the club between 1999 and 2000, and his long management career has also included spells in charge of England U21s, Leicester, Brighton, Hull and Crystal Palace, plus one-match as caretaker boss of the senior England team.
Hessenthaler has had a lengthy association with Gillingham and returned to the club in May as Taylor’s assistant.
He will take charge of the side for Saturday’s match and may still be at the helm for the Johnstone's Paint Trophy area final first leg against Bristol City next Tuesday.
Gillingham chairman Paul Scally told BBC Radio Kent that he had not intended to sack Taylor on Wednesday but decided to make a change after the pair spoke on the telephone.
Scally said: "He called me and, as a result of that conversation, I wasn't prepared to let him carry on with the team.
"There are a number of things that aren't right and we think we should be doing differently. There is never one reason why a manager loses his job.
"He was doing a decent job but I do believe it is right to have someone else running the team now.
“I told him on Monday I was concerned about the huge adverse public response to him. He was getting some serious abuse.
"I think Peter was finding the fan pressure quite intolerable. It's very sad for me because I like Peter and he is a good friend of mine."
