Gillingham managing director Joe Comper says longer-term deal for new boss John Coleman is up for grabs

Gillingham are open to extending newly-installed manager John Coleman’s six-month deal into a long-term appointment if he brings success on the pitch.

Coleman’s taken charge of the team with half a season remaining, tasked with turning the club’s form around and mounting a promotion challenge.

The Gills moved quickly to get vastly-experienced Coleman in place after Mark Bonner was sacked on Sunday. Coleman’s first day was on Monday, he met the players on Tuesday with the immediate focus on beating Saturday’s visitors, Fleetwood.

“I think the beauty of this is we were able to do something very quickly,” said managing director Joe Comper.

“John and I met for the first time [last] Saturday, so it’s not something that we’ve been cooking up for weeks.

“I think we’re both looking at it in the same way. For John it’s a great opportunity. If John goes and gets us into the play-offs it’s going to be a very brave, stupid decision to go, ‘oh yeah, cheers John, we’re going to go and do something else’.

“It’s a great opportunity for John. It’s a good opportunity for us as a club to take stock.

“We’ve been through quite a few managers in a short period of time and we’ve got to stop doing that. We need continuity, we know that.

“In the summer we have an opportunity to really make a change in the playing squad because we’ve got a lot of players out of contract and those guys are playing for their future - their future here or their future elsewhere.

“People who come here and do well for John, they’ll get looked after and obviously John will get looked after as well. It’s a nice arrangement for all of us.

“We’ve got a manager with a vast amount of experience. One of the things that really struck me when I met John and [assistant boss]