Following Stephen Clemence’s sudden departure on Monday, Gillingham fans have spent much of the week wondering who his replacement will be.

We take a look at just some of the names in the frame and what type of manager the club need to take it forward.

On Monday afternoon, when it was announced that Clemence would be leaving the club alongside Assistant Robbie Stockdale, Director of Football, Kenny Jackett, said: “We now begin the process of appointing a successor to Stephen and Robbie. We are identifying targets we believe could take this club forward and will be looking to make an appointment as quickly as possible, so the new management team can form an integral part of the squad building process straight away.”

Fast forward to Friday and KSN believes a number of interviews have taken place and there are a number of credible candidates.

Owner Brad Galinson has stayed in the country despite the end of the season, shopping at Bluewater on Sunday and was spotted at Chatham Town as they booked their place in the Isthmian Premier play-off final on Wednesday night.

Jackett, Galinson and Andy Hessenthaler, along with new Chief Executive, Joe Comper, are believed to be pivotal in deciding who replaces Clemence with fans eagerly speculating who that person will be.

Minutes after Clemence’s departure was announced, fans began to throw up names that could be his replacement with Crawley Town manager Scott Lindsey one of the front runners.

With a strong connection to Gillingham, having managed Chatham Town and still living in the local area, Lindsey is a strong candidate, but with his side in the League Two play-offs, it’s unlikely there would be any movement there in the coming days, weeks or if at all.

Lindsey would be a great fit for The Gills and clearly has the aptitude to take a reasonable squad on a tight budget and turn them into a credible force.

However, the timing might just not be right on this one and fans might have to look elsewhere.

This is where a lot of out of work managers could come into the frame and that could suit all parties.

Gillingham have already stated that they are looking for a quick appointment so they can announce their retained list, but also so they can start working on potential new targets.

Former Wycombe Wanderers and Queens Park Rangers boss Gareth Ainsworth is just one of the names touted as being linked to The Gills and his attacking style of football would definitely bring a lot more goals to Priestfield.

Another man with QPR connections is former manager Mark Warburton and at 62 is a more steady hand, but is he the answer to Gillingham’s prayers?

This is where it comes down to what type of manager the club are really looking for.

A young, hungry, dynamic Head Coach or a seasoned manager with bags of experience?

Gillingham have gone through their fair share of managers over the past 15 years or so.

Since Mark Stimson left the club in 2010, Gillingham have had Andy Hessenthaler (for the second time), Martin Allen, Peter Taylor (for the second time), Justin Edinburgh, Adrian Pennock, Steve Lovell, Steve Evans and Neil Harris in permanent charge along with a number of caretaker appointments.

All of these offered so much promise and with limited success, most never really lasted that long.

Not since the days of Tony Pulis or Keith Peacock have the club had a real identity, a real way of playing, a consistent starting eleven that you could hang your hat on.

Gillingham fans that have been going for the past 20 years or more have great memories about the club playing the likes of Leeds United and Nottingham Forest in the Championship.

Now they could be playing a local derby next season with Bromley having their day at Wembley on Sunday with a place in League Two against Solihull Moors up for grabs.

No disrespect to Bromley as they have come a very long way under Robin Stanton-Gleaves and Andy Woodman, but Gillingham fans will be thinking their club has lacked the same structure and thought about direction of travel.

Bromley are very much a club going places, having invested heavily in their infrastructure off the pitch and are now seeing thay investment come good on the pitch.

Woodman is another man linked with the position, but has turned down the chance in the past and who could blame him with the job he’s doing at Bromley?

Other local clubs such as Ebbsfleet United and Maidstone United are doing the same and are starting to see the benefit. Even Chatham Town could be in the National League South come Monday evening.

Gillingham have stagnated for far too long and rested on their laurels as Kent’s only Football League club. That might not be the case come 5pm on Sunday and if Bromley join them in League Two, fans of The Gills will rightly be expecting their club to show some similar ambition.

This next appointment really is crucial. Get it right and bring in the right person to take the club forward and promotion could be on the cards this time next year, get it wrong and another season in League Two would be seen as a disaster for all involved at Priestfield.

It’s a critical period in the history of the club. Who’d want to be the ones making that decision?