Gareth Ainsworth (born 10 May 1973) is an English professional former player and football manager who is the head coach of EFL League One club Shrewsbury Town.

A former youth player at Blackburn Rovers, the midfielder, who was known for his crossing ability, moved to Preston North End in 1992 after impressing at non-League Northwich Victoria.

Sold on to Lincoln City in 1995, his performances earned him a place on the PFA Third Division Team of the Year in 1996–97, resulting in a £500,000 move to Port Vale.

Ainsworth had a spell on loan with former club Northwich Victoria, making his second debut for the "Vics" in a 2–1 home victory over Bromsgrove Rovers on 5 September 1992.

Cambridge sacked Beck in October 1992 but was swiftly appointed manager at Preston North End, and in December returned to the Abbey Ground to sign Ainsworth.

[14] He was though criticized for an 'ugly' tackle on Sheffield United's Dane Whitehouse in November that resulted in the player's early retirement due to a serious leg injury sustained from the challenge.

[17] However, Vale chairman Bill Bell did later accept an offer from another club, reportedly behind Rudge's back, who was scouting in Sweden at the time.

After missing the entire first half of the 2001–02 campaign, he returned to fitness only to find that he had lost his first-team place due to the form of promising youngster Jobi McAnuff.

He scored twice in nine games upon his return to Wimbledon before March 2003, when he moved to Second Division club Cardiff City on a short-term deal for a "small fee".

[28] Both before and after his release from Cardiff he was linked with a permanent move back to Walsall,[29][30] but manager Colin Lee had limited funds available for new players.

[34] Despite suffering a knee injury in 2004–05 that limited him to 23 appearances, manager Ian Holloway offered him a new contract at the end of the season after telling the media that "he's an important player to have around".

[35] During the disappointing campaign of 2005–06, Ainsworth came second in the Player of the Year awards behind Danny Shittu, and finished joint-top-scorer on eleven goals with Marc Nygaard.

[36] During the 2007–08 season, he assisted new manager Luigi De Canio in addition to his 25 games, and stated his intention to move into coaching once his player career is over.

[39] During his time in charge QPR managed to test Manchester United at Old Trafford in a League Cup encounter that was only settled by a 76th minute Carlos Tevez goal.

Ainsworth retired from professional football on 27 April 2013, after playing his final game against his former club, Port Vale, at Adams Park.

[62] Ainsworth lost striker Joel Grant to Championship club Yeovil Town at the start of the 2013–14 season,[63] and signed attackers Jon-Paul Pittman, Steven Craig, and Paris Cowan-Hall to replace him.

[72] On the final day of the season Wycombe needed to win at Torquay United and hope results went their way elsewhere to stay up; they won their match 3–0 and finished outside of the relegation zone on goal difference.

[74][75][76][77][78] He was named as Football League manager of the week after Wycombe reached the top of the table with a 1–0 home win over Hartlepool United on 3 January.

[79] He won the League Two Manager of the Month award for March 2015 after Wycombe picked up fourteen points in six tough unbeaten games.

[83] He won the League Two Manager of the Month award for a second time having guided the team from 21st to sixth-place with four successive victories and only one goal conceded in November 2016.

[84] Ainsworth was named as the EFL's manager of the week on 3 January 2017 after his side recorded two consecutive victories to begin the year fifth in the table.

[96] He was permitted to speak with divisional rivals Sunderland and was also linked with a move to Millwall in October 2019, but remained at Wycombe, stating that it would take "something special" for him to leave.

[100] The 2019–20 season was ended early due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England, though Wycombe qualified for the play-offs in third-place after the table was concluded on points per game basis.

[101] Wycombe eliminated Fleetwood Town in the semi-finals and recorded a 2–1 victory over Oxford United in the final itself to secure a place in the Championship for the first time in the club's history.

[105] Ainsworth won the League One Manager of the Month award for April 2022 after his team picked up 17 points and scored 13 goals from seven games.

[106] Wycombe finished sixth in League One at the end of the 2021–22 season and qualified for the play-offs, advancing past Milton Keynes Dons with a 2–1 aggregate victory in the semi-finals.

[109] After the end of the 2021–22 season, Ainsworth was heavily linked to a move to former side Queens Park Rangers, but instead signed a contract extension with Wycombe.

[114][115] Later that year, on 28 October, Ainsworth was dismissed from his position following a 2–1 home loss against Leicester City – the club's sixth consecutive defeat, as QPR sat second-to-last in the league table after 14 matches during the 2023–24 season.

[121] During his playing days Ainsworth picked up the nickname "Wild Thing" due to his appearance and his rock star ambitions; he was in a band called APA with Wimbledon teammates Chris Perry and Trond Andersen.

The band were invited to support Bad Manners on tour but rejected the offer due to clashes with Ainsworth's footballing career.