Latest news with #Ainsworth
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Gareth Ainsworth doubles down on Shrewsbury exit as Gillingham revolution takes shape
INTERVIEW: Gareth Ainsworth is relishing "the journey" he has embarked on with Gillingham, who he joined late last season following his shock departure from Shrewsbury Gareth Ainsworth has long been at peace with his shock call to quit Shrewsbury and now he's ready to rock Gillingham's world. The 'Wild Thing' - lead vocalist of The Cold Blooded Hearts - requires no introduction in EFL managerial circles. During 10-and-a-half years at Wycombe, his heavy-metal football yielded exceptional results, propelling Wanderers from the fourth tier of English football into the Championship. And following two short-lived spells in west London (with QPR) and Shropshire, he wants to run it back. Ainsworth said ahead of next week's League Two opener at Accrington Stanley: "I just want my players to feel like they belong to something. When we look at football, we're in a privileged position compared to other walks of life. "Gillingham's identify was getting a little bit muddled up with changes of personnel, both players and managers. We want to bring that identity back, this summer has been a big mental shift of the whole place." Ex-Shrewsbury midfielder Jamie Tolley accused Ainsworth of "promising the world but delivering nothing" when the 52-year-old left the New Meadow for Priestfield in March. But the long-haired gaffer makes no secret of the fact the ambitious pitch from Gillingham's American owners Brad and Shannon Galinson ignited the fire within. Ainsworth certainly knows how to get a place bouncing, his band's latest gig was just a few weeks ago in Soho, and he plans to front an electric Kentish revolution. When asked if he now feels pressure to vindicate his Shrewsbury departure, he said: "No, not at all. "Managers are restricted in what they can say with their contracts, I wish I could have said a lot more. "My justification for coming to Gillingham sits well with me, no problem at all. "I'm on a journey and I bought into the journey at Shrewsbury, I wish it went differently, it was a nice place to live. "People will laugh and say I'm not loyal but you've got the wrong guy, I don't need to prove anything to anyone." Ainsworth was such a coup for Gills, the bookies have them among the favourites for promotion. He isn't buying that, however, adding: "It's flattering but I don't know where the substance in that has come from. We haven't made £1million signings, we've signed three players. "Thank you but we're focusing on the journey, it's a two-year project centred around improving, the next level is way down the line for me." Ainsworth's ranks have been bolstered by the capture of ex-Burnley and Stoke City striker Sam Vokes and he's also optimistic he'll get Bradley Dack fit and firing. He continued: "We should be seen as underdogs, just like we were at Wycombe. Age is irrelevant to me, if you are good enough, you're good enough. If you look at the history of my success, it's come with experience. "Adebayo Akinfenwa, the partnership we had at Wycombe, Craig Mackail-Smith, Nathan Tyson, Marcus Bean, Sam Saunders, Joe Jacobson, Matt Bloomfield, the list is endless. "The owners have brought me in and told me to manage how I want. It was a really good move getting me in early so I could look over the team for the last few games [nine] of the season. "They just want success, they enjoy winning and the thrill of it - so that's what we're going to try and do."
South Wales Argus
5 days ago
- Sport
- South Wales Argus
Ainsworth inspired by Six Nations Women's Summer Series
This year's instalment marked the second time the 21-year-old fly-half from Stirling has played in the competition, which sees Under-20 sides go head-to-head across three matchdays. Scotland were unable to win any of their matches but Glasgow Warriors prospect Ainsworth is taking plenty of inspiration from her experience in Caerphilly. 'I just want to continue to improve,' she said. 'Go back to club, continue working on all aspects of my game, and then see how far it can get me. 'I think you've seen from previous years that the Summer Series is great. So many from last year have gone on to the senior international team and have played and got caps for the country. 'We want to develop and continue to use the Under-20s as a place to get experience and develop, and it is a good competition to then progress further. 'We used to not have a clear pathway, it used to just be your club and then straight to national. 'But getting the experience of having these camps, going away for two weeks with the team and getting used to playing at a higher level, is a good stepping stone to getting to that national team.' 🏴 Scotland Women's U20s head coach Louise Dalgliesh is proud of her players' development throughout the 2025 Six Nations Women's Summer Series despite failing to win any of their three games. Read more ➡️ July 21, 2025 Scotland started their campaign at the Centre for Sporting Excellence in South Wales with a battling 31-17 defeat to England. Ainsworth then scored in her side's 52-29 loss against the hosts before they were beaten 62-7 by Ireland in the final fixture. While results did not go as expected, Ainsworth believes there is a lot she and her team can take from their time at the tournament. She added: 'It was a great experience, thankfully the weather stayed nice for us as well. 'Obviously, we didn't quite get the results we were hoping for, but we worked hard, improved as a team, and it was such a great experience to go and play against different nations. 'We learnt adaptability, you would go into a game expecting something and then it might not necessarily be what it was, so we would change our game or do what we had to do to play against the opposition and try and beat them. 'But also, working together as a team, coming together after the games if we were a bit upset, going and analysing what happened, the things we did well, as well as what we needed to work on. 'It was great scoring tries for Scotland. It is always great putting on a Scotland jersey, but scoring for Scotland and getting points on the board is always amazing." Discover the future of international rugby at the 2025 Women's Summer Series – where rising stars shine. Follow the action live at and on Instagram @u20sixnations.
Glasgow Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- Glasgow Times
Ainsworth inspired by Six Nations Women's Summer Series
This year's instalment marked the second time the 21-year-old fly-half from Stirling has played in the competition, which sees Under-20 sides go head-to-head across three matchdays. Scotland were unable to win any of their matches but Glasgow Warriors prospect Ainsworth is taking plenty of inspiration from her experience in Caerphilly. 'I just want to continue to improve,' she said. 'Go back to club, continue working on all aspects of my game, and then see how far it can get me. 'I think you've seen from previous years that the Summer Series is great. So many from last year have gone on to the senior international team and have played and got caps for the country. 'We want to develop and continue to use the Under-20s as a place to get experience and develop, and it is a good competition to then progress further. 'We used to not have a clear pathway, it used to just be your club and then straight to national. 'But getting the experience of having these camps, going away for two weeks with the team and getting used to playing at a higher level, is a good stepping stone to getting to that national team.' 🏴 Scotland Women's U20s head coach Louise Dalgliesh is proud of her players' development throughout the 2025 Six Nations Women's Summer Series despite failing to win any of their three games. Read more ➡️ July 21, 2025 Scotland started their campaign at the Centre for Sporting Excellence in South Wales with a battling 31-17 defeat to England. Ainsworth then scored in her side's 52-29 loss against the hosts before they were beaten 62-7 by Ireland in the final fixture. While results did not go as expected, Ainsworth believes there is a lot she and her team can take from their time at the tournament. She added: 'It was a great experience, thankfully the weather stayed nice for us as well. 'Obviously, we didn't quite get the results we were hoping for, but we worked hard, improved as a team, and it was such a great experience to go and play against different nations. 'We learnt adaptability, you would go into a game expecting something and then it might not necessarily be what it was, so we would change our game or do what we had to do to play against the opposition and try and beat them. 'But also, working together as a team, coming together after the games if we were a bit upset, going and analysing what happened, the things we did well, as well as what we needed to work on. 'It was great scoring tries for Scotland. It is always great putting on a Scotland jersey, but scoring for Scotland and getting points on the board is always amazing." Discover the future of international rugby at the 2025 Women's Summer Series – where rising stars shine. Follow the action live at and on Instagram @u20sixnations.
Powys County Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- Powys County Times
Ainsworth inspired by Six Nations Women's Summer Series
Ceitidh Ainsworth has been inspired to chase her goals after representing Scotland at the Six Nations Women's Summer Series. This year's instalment marked the second time the 21-year-old fly-half from Stirling has played in the competition, which sees Under-20 sides go head-to-head across three matchdays. Scotland were unable to win any of their matches but Glasgow Warriors prospect Ainsworth is taking plenty of inspiration from her experience in Caerphilly. 'I just want to continue to improve,' she said. 'Go back to club, continue working on all aspects of my game, and then see how far it can get me. 'I think you've seen from previous years that the Summer Series is great. So many from last year have gone on to the senior international team and have played and got caps for the country. 'We want to develop and continue to use the Under-20s as a place to get experience and develop, and it is a good competition to then progress further. 'We used to not have a clear pathway, it used to just be your club and then straight to national. 'But getting the experience of having these camps, going away for two weeks with the team and getting used to playing at a higher level, is a good stepping stone to getting to that national team.' 🏴 Scotland Women's U20s head coach Louise Dalgliesh is proud of her players' development throughout the 2025 Six Nations Women's Summer Series despite failing to win any of their three games. Read more ➡️ #U6NSummerSeries — Six Nations Under-20s (@SixNationsU20) July 21, 2025 Scotland started their campaign at the Centre for Sporting Excellence in South Wales with a battling 31-17 defeat to England. Ainsworth then scored in her side's 52-29 loss against the hosts before they were beaten 62-7 by Ireland in the final fixture. While results did not go as expected, Ainsworth believes there is a lot she and her team can take from their time at the tournament. She added: 'It was a great experience, thankfully the weather stayed nice for us as well. 'Obviously, we didn't quite get the results we were hoping for, but we worked hard, improved as a team, and it was such a great experience to go and play against different nations. 'We learnt adaptability, you would go into a game expecting something and then it might not necessarily be what it was, so we would change our game or do what we had to do to play against the opposition and try and beat them. 'But also, working together as a team, coming together after the games if we were a bit upset, going and analysing what happened, the things we did well, as well as what we needed to work on. 'It was great scoring tries for Scotland. It is always great putting on a Scotland jersey, but scoring for Scotland and getting points on the board is always amazing."
The Herald Scotland
5 days ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Ainsworth inspired by Six Nations Women's Summer Series
This year's instalment marked the second time the 21-year-old fly-half from Stirling has played in the competition, which sees Under-20 sides go head-to-head across three matchdays. Scotland were unable to win any of their matches but Glasgow Warriors prospect Ainsworth is taking plenty of inspiration from her experience in Caerphilly. 'I just want to continue to improve,' she said. 'Go back to club, continue working on all aspects of my game, and then see how far it can get me. 'I think you've seen from previous years that the Summer Series is great. So many from last year have gone on to the senior international team and have played and got caps for the country. 'We want to develop and continue to use the Under-20s as a place to get experience and develop, and it is a good competition to then progress further. 'We used to not have a clear pathway, it used to just be your club and then straight to national. 'But getting the experience of having these camps, going away for two weeks with the team and getting used to playing at a higher level, is a good stepping stone to getting to that national team.' 🏴 Scotland Women's U20s head coach Louise Dalgliesh is proud of her players' development throughout the 2025 Six Nations Women's Summer Series despite failing to win any of their three games. Read more ➡️ — Six Nations Under-20s (@SixNationsU20) July 21, 2025 Scotland started their campaign at the Centre for Sporting Excellence in South Wales with a battling 31-17 defeat to England. Ainsworth then scored in her side's 52-29 loss against the hosts before they were beaten 62-7 by Ireland in the final fixture. While results did not go as expected, Ainsworth believes there is a lot she and her team can take from their time at the tournament. She added: 'It was a great experience, thankfully the weather stayed nice for us as well. 'Obviously, we didn't quite get the results we were hoping for, but we worked hard, improved as a team, and it was such a great experience to go and play against different nations. 'We learnt adaptability, you would go into a game expecting something and then it might not necessarily be what it was, so we would change our game or do what we had to do to play against the opposition and try and beat them. 'But also, working together as a team, coming together after the games if we were a bit upset, going and analysing what happened, the things we did well, as well as what we needed to work on. 'It was great scoring tries for Scotland. It is always great putting on a Scotland jersey, but scoring for Scotland and getting points on the board is always amazing." Discover the future of international rugby at the 2025 Women's Summer Series – where rising stars shine. Follow the action live at and on Instagram @u20sixnations.
