Matt transitioned into coaching while still an active player, taking on a player-goalkeeping coach role at Bolton Wanderers from 2020 to 2022. During this period, he combined first-team playing responsibilities with the day-to-day development of professional goalkeepers.
In January 2022, Matt retired from playing to focus fully on coaching and continued as full-time Goalkeeping Coach at Bolton Wanderers until early 2025. His work at Bolton focused exclusively on goalkeeper performance, preparation and long-term development within a professional environment.
In February 2025, Matt was appointed Goalkeeping Coach at Barnsley FC, working with first-team goalkeepers and supporting the wider coaching staff. His professional coaching career has been entirely goalkeeper-specific and rooted in elite football environments.
Matt Gilks enjoyed a long and distinguished professional playing career spanning more than 20 years.
He began his senior career at Rochdale, making over 170 league appearances and establishing himself as a reliable first-team goalkeeper. He later joined Blackpool, where he became first choice and played a pivotal role in the club’s historic promotion to the Premier League in the 2009-10 season, going on to make over 180 league appearances for the club.
Matt’s career also included spells at Norwich City, Burnley, Rangers, Wigan Athletic, Scunthorpe United, Lincoln City, Fleetwood Town and Bolton Wanderers, competing across the Premier League, Championship, League One and League Two. He concluded his playing career at Bolton Wanderers in 2022.
Internationally, Matt earned caps for the Scotland national team between 2012 and 2013.
This breadth of experience - from lower-league football to the Premier League and international level - underpins his credibility as a coach and mentor.
