Gainsborough Trinity Condemns Fake Manager Making Bogus Transfer Offers

In a corner of English football where trust still oils the wheels of the game, Gainsborough Trinity have found themselves dealing with something far more cynical.

The Northern Premier League Premier Division side have condemned an individual who has been approaching players with transfer and wage offers while falsely claiming to be first-team manager Russ Wilcox.

This is seventh-tier football, not the Premier League circus. Word travels quickly. So do suspicions.

“Categorically clear”

The club say the impersonator has contacted “a number of players” across various levels of the non-league pyramid, offering terms and opportunities under the guise of being in charge at Gainsborough.

Chief executive Matt Boles moved swiftly to distance both Wilcox and the club from the approaches, stressing that any such communication has nothing to do with Trinity.

He said he wanted to make it “categorically clear” that the messages had not come from Wilcox or anyone acting on Gainsborough’s behalf, and he did not soften his view of the hoaxer.

“We strongly condemn the actions of the individual responsible,” Boles said via the club’s channels. “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.”

This is not just a nuisance. In a tight-knit, semi-professional environment, rumours about who is talking to whom can unsettle dressing rooms and strain relationships between clubs.

How the hoax was exposed

The ruse began to unravel in a very non-league way: through phone calls and personal contacts.

Boles explained that Gainsborough became aware of the bogus approaches when managers and officials from other clubs contacted Wilcox directly, suspicious about the tone and content of the messages they were seeing.

Those who know Wilcox, he said, immediately sensed something was off.

“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 said.

In other words, the impersonator could fake a name, but not a reputation.

“Enough is enough”

Once the scale of the problem became clear, the club’s stance hardened.

Boles delivered a blunt message to the person behind the hoax.

“Enough is enough,” he said. “Stop impersonating our manager, stop wasting the time of players and clubs across the non-league game and, quite frankly, get a life.”

No legalese. No carefully massaged corporate language. Just the sort of straight-talking response that tends to resonate in non-league grounds where volunteers pour pints and committee members sell programmes.

Gainsborough have now alerted both the Northern Premier League and the Football Association to the incidents, dragging the matter out of the shadows and into official channels. Any repeat offences are unlikely to be treated as a harmless prank.

Protecting a manager’s name

The club’s reaction also reflects the standing of Wilcox himself.

Appointed in 2023, the former Scunthorpe United and York City boss has quietly rebuilt his managerial career at the Northolme. Under his guidance, Gainsborough reached the FA Cup second round in 2024-25, having made the first round the previous season. For a club at this level, those runs matter – financially and emotionally.

Wilcox’s name carries weight beyond the non-league scene. As a player he turned out for Northampton Town, Hull City, Doncaster Rovers, Preston North End and Scunthorpe, building a career on reliability and professionalism. Those who dealt with him then, and now, know his methods.

That is why rival managers and officials smelled a rat when messages appeared that did not sound like him. His reputation, earned over decades, effectively exposed the fraud.

Non-league football thrives on that kind of recognition. On handshakes, not hidden agendas. Gainsborough Trinity have drawn a sharp line in the sand. The next move belongs to the impersonator – and to the authorities now watching.