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GARETH
AINSWORTH
(Midfield)
 Born: 10 May 1973
 Where: Blackburn 		Joined Wycombe: Nov 2009 on loan from QPR. Returned briefly to QPR before the deal (free) was made permanent in January 2010.
Contracted until June 2013.
Wycombe Debut: Millwall 0 Wycombe 2 - 21st Nov 2009 - League 1
Appointed Player/Manager: November 2012.
Signed a new two year deal as Manager in April 2013.
Deal extended in December 2014 until June 2020.
Deal extended again in June 2018 until June 2023.
Gareth Ainsworth
Career summary up to end of 2017/18
118 appearances - 17 goals
Career Details * indicates loan spell
Date Club League
Apps		 League
goals		 Cup
Apps		 Cup
Goals
Jan92-Aug92 Preston North End 2(3) 0 1(0) 0
Aug92-Dec92 Cambridge United 1(3) 1 0(1) 0
Dec92-Oct95 Preston North End 76(6) 12 14(4) 1
Oct95-Sep97 Lincoln City 83(0) 37 14(0) 1
Sep97-Oct98 Port Vale 53(2) 10 4(0) 1
Oct98-Mar03 Wimbledon 21(15) 6 6(3) 1
Mar02-Apr02 Preston North End(*) 3(2) 1 0(0) 0
Dec02-Jan03 Walsall(*) 2(3) 1 0(0) 0
Mar03-Jun03 Cardiff City(*) 9(0) 0 0(0) 0
Jun03-Jan10 Queens Park Rangers 102(39) 20 7(4) 1
Nov09-Dec09 Wycombe Wanderers(*) 2(0) 0 0(0) 0
2009/2010 Wycombe Wanderers 10(2) 2 0(0) 0
2010/2011 Wycombe Wanderers 39(4) 10 3(0) 1
2011/2012 Wycombe Wanderers 16(16) 2 0(0) 0
2012/2013 Wycombe Wanderers 12(13) 2 0(0) 0
2013/2014 Wycombe Wanderers 0(0) 0 0(0) 0
2014/2015 Wycombe Wanderers 0(0) 0 0(0) 0
2015/2016 Wycombe Wanderers 0(0) 0 0(0) 0
2016/2017 Wycombe Wanderers 0(0) 0 0(1) 0
2017/2018 Wycombe Wanderers 0(0) 0 0(1) 0
Background: Originally joined Wycombe in November 2009 as a 36 year old who boasting a professional career of more than 400 games and close to 100 goals. He had also recently moved into management, taking on the role of Caretaker Manager at QPR on two occasions following the respective departures of Iain Dowie and Paulo Sousa. Originally a trainee with his home town club Blackburn Rovers, he made his mark as a player during spells with Preston North End (appearing in the 1994 play-off final versus Wycombe), Lincoln City, Port Vale and Wimbledon (playing against Wycombe in the FA Cup 5th Round tie in February 2001), before joining QPR at the start of the 2003/4 season.

After an original loan spell with the Wanderers he returned briefly to QPR before signing a permanent deal in January 2010 under former QPR man Gary Waddock. Enjoyed a productive first full season at Adams Park in 2010/11 where he scored 10 goals during the League Two promotion winning campaign. Returned to the Caretaker Manager role in September 2012 following the dismissal of Gary Waddock. His role was made permanent on 8th November 2012, signing a contract until the end of the 2012/13 campaign. He saw his side plumment to the bottom of the League Two table a couple of games later but a run of decent results, starting later that month saw Wanderers eventually climb out of the relegation zone and eventually secure safety with two weeks of the season remaining.

Signed a new two year deal as Wanderers Manager on 22nd April 2013 and on the same day announced he would be retiring from the playing side - playing his 600th professional appearance on the final day of the 2012/13 season against former Club Port Vale.

His first full season as Wycombe Manager was far from easy and relegation looked odds on right up the final day of the 2013/14 season when an amazing 3-0 victory at already relegated Torquay United, coupled with a home loss for Bristol Rovers, saw Wanderers escaped by virture of goal difference. That episode seemed to inspire Ainsworth to better things and the 2014/15 season saw Wycombe climb to the top of the table by the half-way stage despite one of the smallest squads in the whole of the Football League.

On 26th December 2014 it was announced that Ainsworth had signed a deal 'long term' deal with the Club that was understood to run until June 2020. Commenting on the deal, Ainsworth said: "It's a deal that marries up with the long term plan we've got here. I want to be part of what the chairman wants to achieve here and get Wycombe Wanderers back as a good business financially first of all, as a competitive League Two team and ultimately to be competing in League One.". He added: "I'm enjoying life here. Last season, the loyalty Wycombe showed to me won't be forgotten. Sometimes it's not about the big contracts you can get elsewhere, or looking to move on all the time. If you're happy somewhere and you can see a future, and see a good plan in place - I want to be part of that. It's something I was happy to do. My contract was up at the end of the season. You're always thinking about what might happen but I think the stability was nice, not just for me but the players as well. What we've put in place, hopefully it's not just a flash in the pan. It's something I can work with, something we can evolve. It's very early stages in the plan. The club was in some state last year, it really was, and I think to turn that round on and off the pitch is going to be a big effort - but I want to be part of it. I'll commit to working hard to do that."

Having guided Wanderers to promotion from League Two at the end of the 2017/18 season, in June 2018 it was announced that Ainsworth had agreed another extension to his deal at Adams Park - this time signing a contract running until June 2023. He commented at the time: "Every day I am proud to be manager of this football club and I will always give everything I’ve got to improve myself as a manager and to take the club as far forward as we can. We know who we are, we know we’ll always be competing against bigger clubs with more money and more resources, but we’ve got something special here that gives you that buzz to want to see how far it can take us. I’m extremely grateful to the board for offering me this new contract and to the support of all my staff and players for getting right behind me from the day I walked through the door. I want to give a special mention also to the fans, who have backed me fantastically and I really appreciate all the support I’ve had from them. Now let’s see what we can achieve together next season.”

External links:
Soccerbase
Wikipedia
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