Chatham Town manager Kevin Hake looks ahead to the visit of Gillingham to the Bauvill Stadium for Friday night pre-season fixture

Chatham boss Kevin Hake is expecting another fiercely competitive encounter when Gillingham visit the Bauvill Stadium on Friday night.

The Medway rivals meet as both sides continue their preparations for the new campaign, with Chatham looking to build on Tuesday night's impressive 1-0 win away at National South side Dorking Wanderers.

Adam Leathers scored the only goal on 63 minutes as the Chats continued their encouraging pre-season programme, and Hake believes another stern examination awaits against the League 2 outfit.

The Gills are likely to include their best young players for the match against the Isthmian Premier Division side.

Hake said: “We’re really looking forward to tonight’s game. Whenever we play Gillingham, it’s always a competitive fixture between us.

“From our point of view, it’s another valuable step in our pre-season programme.

“Every game gives us the opportunity to build relationships, improve our understanding of one another and continue working on the patterns of play we’ve been developing on the training ground.

“I’ve been pleased with the progress so far. The players are getting fitter, the new lads are settling in well and you can see the understanding across the squad growing with every session and every match.

“There are still areas for us to improve, as you’d expect at this stage of pre-season, but that’s exactly why you play games like this against good opposition. They test you in different ways and help prepare you for what’s ahead.

“We are expecting a good crowd in, which always adds to the occasion, and it should be another excellent test for us as we continue building towards the start of the season on August 8.”

Chatham have continued to strengthen ahead of the new season with the