Matthew James Gill (born 8 November 1980) is an English professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

coach and former player, who is an assistant coach at

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...

. He began his career in 1997, notably representing

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

and

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...

. Following his retirement in 2014, he moved into coaching, first becoming assistant manager at

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they adop ...

before taking a post at the

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

academy. He left Norwich in October 2018, joining local rivals

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

as first-team coach to new manager

Paul Lambert Paul Lambert (born 7 August 1969) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player, who was most recently the manager of Ipswich Town. Lambert played as a midfielder and won the Scottish Cup in 1987 with St Mirren as a 17-year-ol ...

. Following Lambert's departure in February 2021, Gill was appointed as caretaker manager before Lambert's successor, Paul Cook, was appointed. Gill left the club in May 2021. He briefly joined Russell Martin at

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...

, before the pair moved to Swansea City in August 2021.

Playing career

Peterborough United

Born in

Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, Gill began his career as a trainee with

Third Division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

side

. On 25 April 1998, during the 1997–98 season, Gill broke through into Peterborough's first team during a 3–1 loss to

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

. In over seven years at Peterborough, Gill made 149 first team appearances, scoring five goals.

Notts County

On 3 May 2004, Gill moved to League Two side

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...

for the 2004–05 season. After a tough start at

Meadow Lane Meadow Lane Stadium is a football stadium in Nottingham, England. It is the home ground of Notts County, who have played there since it opened in 1910. The stadium was also home to Notts County Ladies F.C. from 2014 until 2017. It currently h ...

, Gill was placed on the transfer list by struggling manager Gary Mills. In November 2004 Mills was replaced by Ian Richardson who immediately removed him from the list. Gill went on to make 57 appearances for the Magpies before being transferred to

Conference National The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...

side

on 16 January 2006 during the 2005–06 season, on a free transfer.

Exeter City

Since joining Exeter in 2006, Gill has quickly established himself as a first-team regular. He was sent off in the 2007 Conference National playoff final for a headbutt, becoming the first player to receive the red card at the new

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

. In September 2008, he was voted League Two player of the month, after scoring four goals in four games.

Norwich City

Gill agreed to sign for

on 9 June 2009 on a free transfer, which came into effect on 1 July. He made his debut in the opening day 7–1 defeat to

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

Carrow Road Carrow Road is an association football stadium located in Norwich, Norfolk, England, and is the home of EFL Championship side Norwich City. The stadium is located toward the east of the city, near Norwich railway station and the River Wensum. N ...

. Injury blighted Gill's first season at Carrow Road, and he only managed 10 appearances in all competitions. Gill particularly impressed in the 3–0 win over Bristol Rovers on 1 May 2010. He continued his role of a substitute during the 2010–2011 Championship season, making some appearances off the bench, showcasing his long throw-ins to the fans. Gill was released by

on 1 June 2011. Gill returned to his first club

on 23 September 2010 on a one-month loan deal and made his second debut for the Posh at home to

MK Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...

Bristol Rovers

Bristol Rovers agreed terms with Gill on 6 July 2011. Rovers faced competition for his signature, from clubs including

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

and

, both of whom are League One clubs. On 1 August 2011 it was announced that Gill would be the club captain for Bristol Rovers for the 2011/12 season. Gill returned to his former club

on 18 October 2013 on loan until the end of the year.

Tranmere Rovers

Gill signed for

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

outfit

on 29 May 2014 on a one-year contract. He signed as a player coach as Tranmere's second signing by new manager, Rob Edwards.

Coaching career

Tranmere Rovers

On 8 September 2014, he was named as Assistant Manager, following three months working with the manager at the club. After Edwards was replaced by

Micky Adams Michael Richard Adams (born 8 November 1961) is an English former professional association football, footballer and football manager. As a player, he was a Full-back (football), full back, and made a total of 438 league appearances in a ninete ...

, Gill left Tranmere by mutual consent on 3 November 2014.

Norwich City

Gill returned to Norwich in 2015 to work in the Academy as a coach. He took on the interim role of Norwich's Under-23 manager for the remainder of the 2016/17 season following the exit of Dmitri Halajko, who left to become head of technical coaching at

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

's academy in February. Gill's role was confirmed as being permanent on 4 July 2017.

Ipswich Town

On 27 October 2018, Gill left his role at Norwich to join local rivals

as first team coach as part of

's new backroom staff. Following Lambert's departure by mutual consent in February 2021, Gill was appointed as caretaker manager with fellow club coach

Bryan Klug Bryan Paul Klug (born 8 October 1960) is an English former professional footballer and coach. He is currently the Head of Coaching and Player Development at the Ipswich Town Academy. Playing career Born in Coventry, Klug began his football ca ...

as his assistant. Gill oversaw one game while in caretaker charge, a 2–1 away win at

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete history ...

, before new boss

Paul Cook Paul Thomas Cook (born 20 July 1956) is an English drummer and member of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He was also called "Cookie" by his friends on the punk music scene. Early life and career Cook was raised in Hammersmith and atte ...

was appointed. It was confirmed that Gill would remain as a first team coach under Cook, alongside fellow coach Gary Roberts. However, on 7 May 2021, Gill left the club after Cook outlined his intentions of appointing a new backroom ahead of forthcoming season.

MK Dons

Gill joined up with Russell Martin at

on the 29th June 2021. He was handed the role of technical development coach at Stadium MK.

Swansea City

Russell Martin and his MK coaching staff, including Gill, left to join

in August 2021 with Gill serving as technical development coach. He held this role until February 2022, where following the departure of Luke Williams, Gill became the interim assistant head coach at the swans. During pre season preparations ahead of the 2022-2023 season, Gill was promoted to assistant head coach permanently.

Career statistics

Managerial record

Honours

Club

Peterborough United *

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the f ...

play-off winner: 1999–00 Exeter City *

Conference Premier The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profess ...

play-off winner: 2007–08 Norwich City *

Football League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

: 2009–10

Individual

Exeter City *

Football League Two Player of the Month The EFL League Two Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the player adjudged the best for each month of the season in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of English football. Originally named the Football League Two Pl ...

: September 2008

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gill, Matthew 1980 births Living people Sportspeople from Cambridge Footballers from Kent English footballers Association football midfielders Peterborough United F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. non-playing staff Norwich City F.C. non-playing staff Ipswich Town F.C. non-playing staff Swansea City A.F.C. non-playing staff English Football League players National League (English football) players