Matthew Gilks (born 4 June 1982) is a former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

. He played for

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was formed in ...

, Lincoln City,

Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Established in 1997, the current Flee ...

and

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

. Born in England, he qualified to represent Scotland. He was first selected for the Scotland national team in August 2010 and made his international debut in August 2012.

Club career

Rochdale

Born in

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

, where he started out with Heyside Juniors, Gilks joined

at the age of 13. He was promoted from their youth team in 2001. After being coached by Fred Barber,"The Big Interview – Matt Gilks"
– ''Goalkeeper Magazine'', YouTube he eventually replaced Neil Edwards in the first team, becoming a regular starter. He made a total of 198 appearances for the club in league and cup competitions, and by the time he was 24, he was the longest-serving player at Rochdale. Being an

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

fan growing up, and living about a mile from

Boundary Park Boundary Park is a football stadium in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. Its name originates from the fact that it lies at the northwestern extremity of Oldham, with Royton and Chadderton lying immediately north and west respectively. Bound ...

, he states

Andy Rhodes Andrew Charles Rhodes (born 23 August 1964) is an English former football goalkeeper and ex-assistant manager of Oldham Athletic. Rhodes played for Oldham Athletic between 1988 and 1990, capping his time at Boundary Park with an appearance in ...

and

Jon Hallworth Jonathan Geoffrey Hallworth (born 26 October 1965) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Club career Hallworth began his career as a trainee at Ipswich Town before signing a professional contract. During his ...

as his heroes.

Norwich City

On 1 July 2007, Gilks signed a two-year contract with

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

club

, moving on a free transfer due to his contract with Rochdale having expired. He was unable to break into Norwich's first team, spending most of the 2007–08 season sitting on the substitutes bench. He also had a spell out of action with ligament damage after twisting his ankle in training in November 2007.

Blackpool

In the summer of 2008, and without having made a first-team appearance for Norwich, Gilks signed for fellow Championship club

as makeweight in a part-exchange deal which saw

Wes Hoolahan Wesley Patrick Hoolahan (born 20 May 1982) is an Irish professional Association football, footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Central Midlands Alliance club Doncaster City F.C., Doncaster City. Hoolahan began his playing career ...

go in the opposite direction. He made his debut on 12 August 2008 in a 2–0 League Cup defeat by

Macclesfield Town Macclesfield Town Football Club was an association football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. Initially known as Macclesfield F.C., the club was formed in 1874 and from 1891 played home games at Moss Rose. It competed in the short ...

. After failing to break into the first team, and considering quitting the game due to lack of opportunities and a self-perceived lack of ability during a training session, he signed for League Two club

on a month's loan on 21 November to cover an injury crisis at the club. He made his debut the following day in a goalless draw with Lincoln City at

Sincil Bank Sincil Bank Stadium, known for sponsorship reasons as LNER Stadium, is a football stadium in Lincoln, England, which has been the home of Lincoln City since 1895. Previously, Lincoln City had played at the nearby John O'Gaunts ground since t ...

. He made three further appearances for Shrewsbury, with his final match coming on 13 December, a 1–0 defeat by

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

Blundell Park Blundell Park is a football ground in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England and home to Grimsby Town Football Club. The stadium was built in 1899, but only one of the original stands remains. The current capacity of the ground is 9,05 ...

, before returning to Blackpool. While

Simon Grayson Simon Nicholas Grayson (born 16 December 1969) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who is head coach of National League (division), National League club Hartlepool ...

was Blackpool manager, he did not usually name a substitute goalkeeper, preferring to have five outfield players on the bench. After Grayson left the club, in late December 2008, caretaker manager

Tony Parkes Anthony Parkes (born 5 May 1949) is an English former professional footballer. After retiring, he became a coach. He was most recently caretaker manager at Blackpool. It was the seventh such role of his coaching career, having performed the rol ...

immediately began naming Gilks as a substitute. After a number of matches as an unused substitute, Gilks made his league debut for Blackpool on 31 January 2009, after

Paul Rachubka Paul Stephen Rachubka (; born 21 May 1981) is a professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He now works as an accountant in Manchester. Born in the United States, he represented England at youth level. Born in San Luis Obispo, Californ ...

was sent off three minutes into Blackpool's match against

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

Selhurst Park Selhurst Park is a football stadium in Selhurst, in the London Borough of Croydon, England, which is the home ground of Premier League club Crystal Palace. The stadium was designed by Archibald Leitch and opened in 1924. It has hosted interna ...

. Gilks was brought on and helped Blackpool to a 1–0 win. His first league start of the 2009–10 season came in the 2–0 win over

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...

Bloomfield Road Bloomfield Road is a association football, football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C., Blackpool Football Club since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two be ...

on 17 October. After three consecutive clean sheets, Gilks was named in The Championship "Team of the Week", along with teammates

Stephen Crainey Stephen Daniel Crainey (born 22 June 1981) is a Scottish former professional footballer whose most recent job was as assistant manager for Bolton Wanderers. A left back, he made 319 appearances in the Premier League and Football League, includin ...

and Marcel Seip, following his performance in Blackpool's goalless draw with

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

on 24 October at the

Liberty Stadium The Swansea.com Stadium (; formerly Liberty Stadium) is an all-seated multi-use sports stadium and conferencing venue located in the Landore area of Swansea, Wales, hosting both rugby union and football. The stadium opened in 2005 and was name ...

. His 200th career Football League appearance came in a 1–0 home win over

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn ...

on 6 March 2010, when he was also named Man of the Match. In addition, he was again named in The Championship "Team of the Week", following his performance, which saw a fourth clean sheet in five games. On 13 November 2010, in a goalless draw at

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

, Gilks suffered an injury to his

knee cap The patella (: patellae or patellas), also known as the kneecap, is a flat, rounded triangular bone which articulates with the femur (thigh bone) and covers and protects the anterior articular surface of the knee joint. The patella is found in m ...

which kept him out much of the remainder of the 2010–11 campaign. After working with former

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

strength and conditioning coach Mick Clegg, he returned to the first team on 16 April 2011, in a home defeat by

. Despite Blackpool's relegation from the Premier League in 2011, Gilks signed a new two-year contract with the club in July. His contract with Blackpool expired at the end of the 2013–14 season. He left the club to sign for

, despite being offered a new contract with Blackpool.

Burnley

Gilks signed a two-year contract with newly promoted Premier League club Burnley in July 2014. He made his first appearance for Burnley in a League Cup tie; Gilks initially served as a backup to established first choice goalkeeper

Tom Heaton Thomas David Heaton (born 15 April 1986) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. He is currently a free agent. Heaton began his career in the Manchester United F ...

Rangers

On 24 June 2016, Gilks signed for

on a two-year deal. He made his debut for the club in a League Cup match against Annan Athletic on 19 July. He played in all five of Rangers' League Cup ties, keeping clean sheets in the first four. Rangers lost 1–0 to

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

in the semi-final, but Gilks made several saves and was praised by the media and teammates for his performance.

Wigan Athletic

Gilks signed for Wigan Athletic on 31 January 2017. On his home debut against

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

he saved a

Jordan Hugill Jordan Thomas Hugill (born 4 June 1992) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Rotherham United. A relative latecomer to the professional game, he had spells with non-League sides Seaham Red Star, Consett, W ...

penalty and the resultant rebound to help his side gain a 0–0 draw.

Scunthorpe United

Gilks signed for

on 16 June 2017 on a free transfer, becoming the club's first-choice goalkeeper for the 2018–19 season.

Lincoln City

On 31 January 2019, Gilks signed for Lincoln City on a free transfer, and would go on to make twelve league appearances as Lincoln City won League Two.

Fleetwood Town

On 1 August 2019 Gilks signed for

Bolton Wanderers

On 6 August 2020, Gilks signed for

, as a player-goalkeeping coach. His debut came on 13 November in which he was named

Man of the Match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

in a 2–0 win against local rivals Salford City. He played a total of 35 matches as Bolton won promotion to League One and finished second in Bolton's Player of the Season award voting. On 8 June 2021, Gilks signed a new one-year contract. He kept his spot as first-choice goalkeeper for the first match of the 21–22 season; however, after a 3–3 draw against

MK Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club, usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football leag ...

, in which he was at fault for two of MK Dons's goals, he lost his place to new signing Joel Dixon. On 10 January 2022, Gilks retired as a player to focus on being a full-time goalkeeping coach.

International career

On 22 August 2010, the

Scottish FA The Scottish Football Association (; also known as the Scottish FA and the SFA) is the governing body of football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to s ...

confirmed that manager

Craig Levein Craig William Levein (born 22 October 1964) is a Scottish professional association football, football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of Scottish Premiership club St Johnstone F.C., St Johnstone. During his playing c ...

was considering Gilks for a call-up to the Scotland national squad for their upcoming

UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th UEFA European Championship, European Championship for List of men's national association football teams#UEFA (Europe), men's ...

qualifiers against

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

and

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...

. Gilks qualifies to play for Scotland through his Scottish grandmother. Levein said of Gilks: "He is one we became aware of a while ago and have kept track of his progress. Obviously he was a key figure in Blackpool's promotion to the Barclays Premier League and while I will not name my squad until tomorrow, he is one I think we need to take a closer look at. He comes highly recommended, is playing regularly for his club and the next logical step is for our goalkeeping coach to work closely with him." Two days later he was selected in the Scotland squad, joining fellow Blackpool player

Charlie Adam Charles Graham Adam (born 10 December 1985) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is currently the set-piece coach at Everton. Prior to that, he was the manager of club Fleetwood Town. Adam started hi ...

. On his call up Gilks said: "My grandmother was Scottish and they've traced the roots back and checked it. I'm eligible and it's great to be in the squad. Everybody knows that I am English but England doesn't come knocking on the door of Blackpool Football Club and I think that's a problem. They look at the bigger clubs. To be honest it was nice of Scotland to come and have a look at me and find out about me." In November 2010, Gilks had to withdraw from the Scotland squad through injury. He again withdrew on 10 August 2011, hours before kick-off in a friendly against

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, with an ankle injury. On 15 August 2012, he made his debut for Scotland as a first-half substitute in a friendly against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Coaching career

On 6 August 2020, Gilks signed for

as a player-goalkeeping coach. On 22 January 2025, manager Ian Evatt left by mutual consent — with Gilks leaving his role as well. In February 2025, Gilks joined

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

as goalkeeping coach. He departed the club at the end of the 2024–25 season.

Career statistics

Club

;Notes

International

Honours

Blackpool *

Football League Championship play-offs The English Football League (EFL) Championship play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from third to sixth in the EFL Championship table and are part of the English Football League play-of ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Lincoln City *

EFL League Two The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English ...

: 2018–19 Bolton Wanderers *

third-place (promotion):

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

Individual *

Player of the Year: 2013–14

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilks, Matt 1982 births Living people Footballers from Oldham English men's footballers Scottish men's footballers Scotland men's international footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Rochdale A.F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Burnley F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players People educated at North Chadderton School English people of Scottish descent Rangers F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players Fleetwood Town F.C. players Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Association football goalkeeping coaches Bolton Wanderers F.C. non-playing staff Barnsley F.C. non-playing staff 21st-century English sportsmen 21st-century Scottish sportsmen