A rare milestone will take place at Hillsborough Stadium on September 24, as Gareth Ainsworth will celebrate his 10th anniversary in charge of Wycombe Wanderers.

Unique for a manager in this day and charge due to the heavy demands from football owners for instant success, the 49-year-old’s longevity at Adams Park has seen him change the culture of the club.

Focusing on performance and the ability to adapt, it has been no surprise that numerous successes have come his way in the decade he has had at the helm.

Play-off final appearances for Wanderers in 2015, 2020, and 2022, an automatic promotion in 2018, nearly knocking Tottenham Hotspur out of the FA Cup in 2017, and taking the lead at reigning champions and League Cup holders Manchester City in 2021, are just some achievements Ainsworth can put on his managerial CV.

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But why did he make the move from Queens Park Rangers to Wycombe in 2009 as a player?

His decision to move to Buckinghamshire 13 years ago ultimately led him to become the club’s most successful manager in its history.

Speaking to the press ahead of Wycombe’s match at Sheffield Wednesday on September 24, Ainsworth said: “I was coming at the end of my time at QPR.

“Being 36-years-old, I wasn’t getting a lot of game time as they were bringing in bigger and better players.

“Garry Waddock [Ainsworth’s manager at QPR in 2006] gave me a call and asked me to come here and from the start, it has just been so special.

“In a way, it was nice to come back to where I had started.

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“I had started my career at Preston North End, then Cambridge United, then Lincoln City.

“So it was nice to really feel that again.”

Ironically, Waddock, who made Ainsworth one of his first signings when he took over the role in 2009, was replaced by the winger three years later as manager.

The move was considered a gamble as Ainsworth’s only experience in managment was a brief period as a caretaker at QPR in the 2008/09 season, where he won three matches in his 11 games in charge across two spells that campaign.

It’s fair to say that his first two years at the helm at Wycombe were experimental with the club nearly going down to the Non League in 2014.

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But with survival, the appointment of Andrew Howard as chairman in the summer of 2014, and a recruitment policy with structure, Wycombe started to make a name for themselves with Ainsworth at the wheel.

He continued: “When my playing days came to an end and the management career started, it was really fractured.

“I really didn’t know anything about management and it was hard.

“I had a brief spell at QPR but that was almost steering the ship in the right direction.

“It wasn’t really getting stuck into things and if I am honest, that really put me on the back footing because I was so steering the ship in the right direction at Wycombe, only for a huge tidal wave just around the corner as we nearly went down to the Non League.

“That was the biggest learning curve I could ever have.

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“We have had a few sticky years but it has been a great journey to be part of it, never mind be at the top of it.

“Andrew Howard coming in as chairman was a big moment in 2014 and really took control of the club to steer it in the right direction.

“So that day at Torquay, we have just worked hard, we have been honest and being yourself and those three things are something that we pride ourselves on.

“I’m lucky to get up every day and lead and energise these players into battle every week.”