Gillingham are on the verge of announcing a new head coach which means

Gillingham are on the verge of announcing a new head coach which means interim manager Keith Millen’s time will soon be up | Chairman Brad Galinson says his old job is there for him to return to

Keith Millen will return to his former post at Gillingham once the new head coach at the club is unveiled.

Chairman Brad Galinson expects Millen to return to the job he was initially employed to do, overseeing the rest of the coaching staff at the club and helping to run the B Team and academy.

Millen was given the task of taking on first team duties on a caretaker basis while the club looked for a new head coach, replacing sacked manager Neil Harris. The new man is expected to be announced before the weekend.

Gillingham head to Hereford in the FA Cup this Saturday.

Mr Galinson was full of praise for coach Millen, after he stepped into a difficult role following Harris’ exit.

“We put him in a terrible situation,” admitted the Gills chairman.

“He is an ultimate professional, he has kept it steady and he is very well respected.

“What is also nice is that he was not interested in the position. There was no competition, as in ‘oh, if I do well then maybe I will get the job’.

“He is very happy being the coach of coaches and he has been doing this as a favour to the club, handling himself professionally, but there is no interest at all for him to do anything other than be in the exact position we are hiring him for.”

During his time at the helm Millen has looked to implement a slight change of approach to the way the team play, encouraging a more possession-based style, without destabilising things too much.

Galinson said: “He was hired as a coach of coaches, overseeing the B Team and the academy and that is what he wants to get back to doing. He is a permanent, long-term employee of the club, absolutely.”

Results have been mixed, with a home win over MK Dons in his first game at the helm and a 1-0 victory at Swindon that will count as his inherited team’s best performance. Had the Gills been able to take more of their chances, his record might have looked even better.

A 4-1 loss at Walsall came as the team crumbled in the wake of his dismissal for an apparent trip of a home player – something he has since been cleared of any wrongdoing.

His final league game in charge, at home to Newport last Saturday, was an afternoon everyone will want to forget, with mistakes on the pitch and disgraceful actions off it.

He bows out with a league record of two wins and three defeats, with the Gills sitting eighth in the table, as they were when Harris was sacked almost a month ago, although the gap to top spot has gone from four points to 10.