Gainsborough Trinity Condemns Fake Manager's Transfer Scams
Gainsborough Trinity have issued a fierce condemnation after discovering someone has been posing as their manager and approaching players with fake transfer and wage offers.
The Northern Premier League Premier Division side, who operate in the seventh tier of English football, revealed that an individual has contacted “a number of players” at various levels of the non-league game while falsely claiming to represent the club and boss Russ Wilcox.
Chief executive Matt Boles moved quickly to distance Trinity from the approaches and to protect Wilcox’s reputation.
He stressed he wanted to make it “categorically clear” that any communication over potential deals had not come from Wilcox or anyone acting on Gainsborough’s behalf.
“We strongly condemn the actions of the individual responsible,” Boles said on the club’s website. “Impersonating a football manager and making false representations to players is completely unacceptable and has the potential to cause unnecessary disruption and reputational damage to players, managers and clubs.”
The scam only came to light when managers and officials at other clubs started going straight to the source. They contacted Wilcox directly, suspicious that the tone and method of the messages did not fit the experienced coach.
“Many have done so precisely because they know Russ, know the professional standards by which he conducts himself, and immediately recognised that this is not the manner in which he would approach or attempt to recruit a player,” Boles explained.
Once the pattern became clear, the club’s patience snapped.
“Enough is enough,” Boles said, directing a blunt warning at the impersonator. “Stop impersonating our manager, stop wasting the time of players and clubs across the non-league game and, quite frankly, get a life.”
Gainsborough have reported the matter to both the Northern Premier League and the Football Association, underlining how seriously they view the situation and the potential damage such behaviour can cause in a tight-knit non-league community.
Wilcox, who took charge of Trinity in 2023, has guided the club to the FA Cup second round in 2024-25 and the first round the previous season. His standing in the game stems from long experience: earlier spells in the dugout at Scunthorpe United and York City, and a solid playing career with Northampton Town, Hull City, Doncaster Rovers, Preston North End and Scunthorpe.
For a club trying to build something under a respected manager, the message could not be clearer: they will not let a hoaxer drag their name, or their people, through the mud.
