Gillingham set to name ex-Cambridge United manager as Stephen Clemence successor | OneFootball

That's according to journalist Pete O'Rourke, who has provided an update on the club's search for a replacement for Stephen Clemence.

The League Two side have been looking to replace Clemence since the end of last month, when he was sacked at the end of the campaign after less than a season in charge.

Now it looks as though the Gills are all set to name their new manager, with Bonner set for a return to management after several months out following his departure from Cambridge United.

Gillingham set to appoint Mark Bonner

As per this latest update, it is Bonner who will be named as Clemence's successor at Priestfield.

The 38-year-old has been out of work since being sacked by Cambridge back in November 2023.

Bonner had been in charge of the U's since January 2020, in what was the only previous first-team managerial role of his career.

He had guided the U's to promotion from League Two to League One in his first full season in charge in 2020/21.

That was then followed by 14th and 20th place finishes in the third-tier of English football in the following two seasons.

However, he was then sacked earlier in the 2023-24 campaign with Cambridge 18th in the League One table, four points clear of the relegation zone, but having won just one of their last 13 games.

Now though, Bonner looks set to get another chance to show what he can do in management with his anticipated appointment by Gillingham.

A frustrating 2023/24 campaign for Gillingham

With the investment of the club's American owners and a proven EFL manager in the dugout in Neil Harris, it did look as though the Gills had their eyes on promotion to League One this season.

However, things would not work out that way, and Harris was sacked by October, with Clemence taking over less than a month later.

Ultimately though, the Gills would finish 12th in the fourth-tier standings, six points adrift of the play-offs.

That led to the sacking of Clemence, and now it seems, the appointment of Bonner as Gillingham's new manager.

Bonner could be a smart appointment at Priestfield

It does seem as though it could be a sensible move for the Gills to bring Bonner in as their new manager.

As has already been mentioned, this looks to be a club that has considerable ambitions of getting back out of League Two and climbing the pyramid as soon as possible.

In Bonner, they are bringing in a manager who knows about winning promotion at this level, having done so in his one and only season in the division to date.

That is a track record that does look to be rather promising when it comes to Gillingham's prospects for next season.

Beyond that, the fact he was able to keep Cambridge in League One in the following two seasons, despite some of the challenges they will have faced there, may also bode well from a more long-term perspective for the Gills, if Bonner does indeed take them up.

So with all that in mind, you get the feeling that this move to bring Bonner to Priestfield could be a smart one to make.

Meanwhile, the fact it is coming now, when there is still much of the summer to prepare before the new season, also makes this an encouraging situation for Gillingham.