Gainsborough Trinity have issued a furious statement condemning a person who has been impersonating their manager, Russ Wilcox, to approach players with bogus transfer and wage offers. The seventh-tier club said the impersonator had targeted "a number of players across different levels of the non-league game."
The statement, released on Wednesday and written by chief executive officer Matt Boles, made clear that Wilcox had no involvement in the approaches. "We want to make it categorically clear that these approaches have not been made by Russ Wilcox, nor have they been made on behalf of Gainsborough Trinity Football Club," it read.
"We strongly condemn the actions of the individual responsible. 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," Boles added.
Boles closed the statement with a direct message to whoever is responsible. "Finally, to the person responsible: enough is enough. Stop impersonating our manager, stop wasting the time of players and clubs across the non-league game and, quite frankly, get a life," he said.
How the club found out
Gainsborough said they first became aware of the impersonator after managers and officials at other clubs contacted Wilcox directly, suspecting he was not behind the messages being sent to their players. "Many [managers and officials] 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 said.
The club has now made both the Football Association and the Northern Premier League aware of the impersonator.
Wilcox's spell at Gainsborough
Gainsborough Trinity play in the Northern Premier League Premier Division, the seventh tier of English football. The club currently sit eighth in the table with 13 points from eight matches this season.
Wilcox has managed Gainsborough since 2023, having previously held posts at Scunthorpe United and York City. Under his charge, the club has enjoyed recent success in the FA Cup, reaching the second round in the 2024-25 season and the first round last season.
