Gillingham manager Mark Bonner has unveiled who will be joining his backroom team ahead of the 2024/25 season.

Anthony Hayes will take on the role of Assistant Manager, while Peter Gill will be Gillingham’s new First-Team Coach.

Hayes leaves his role at Sunderland in the Championship while Peter departs Charlton Athletic. 

This completes Mark Bonner’s coaching team ahead of the 2024/25 Sky Bet League 2 season with Deren Ibrahim staying on as Goalkeeping Coach having also worked under both Neil Harris and Stephen Clemence.

Hayes began his coaching career in the academy at Brentford and worked his way up to the Assistant Head of Coaching before joining the Addicks in June 2016. He was initially the U16 Lead Coach and Assistant Youth Development Phase Coach but worked his way up to First-Team Assistant Manager by December 2022.

He was in the role for just over a year prior to his move to the Stadium of Light.

Peter Gill reunites with Mark Bonner having worked with the Gills boss at Cambridge United, starting in May 2020. Having spent time in Australia, he joined Leyton Orient in the summer of 2015 as Head Football Coach in their college program alongside being a Youth Development Phase Age Group Coach.

Having been promoted to Professional Development Phase Coach in January 2017 he took on the role as Academy Manager at Barnet in December 2018 before joining Cambridge in May 2020.

He spent just over three years at the Abbey prior to joining Charlton in July last year as Professional Development Phase Coach (U21’s). 

On joining the club, Hayes said: “I am really excited and delighted to be here. I am looking forward to the challenge.

“We now have to concentrate on the work we do on a daily basis that is going to give the players the best chance of winning Football matches.”

Gill added: “I understand how Mark wants to work, his values and his ethic off the pitch but then, importantly, understanding how that translates onto the pitch. 

“I like to build relationships with players and working with them as individuals first, and then collectively as a team. We now need to plan pre-season, look through clips of players so I can help them from day one.”

Picture supplied by Gillingham Football Club.