Gillingham and Port Vale meet in League Two just days after Doug Loft’s death – He captained both sides

Gillingham fans will get the chance to pay tribute to their former captain Doug Loft tonight.

Loft passed away last weekend at the age of 39. The Gills said in a statement that he had “died suddenly following a medical emergency.”

His most successful spell came at Port Vale, who are the visitors to Priestfield for the midweek match. Gillingham have said that there will be a tribute to their former captain before the game.

The midfielder captained the Valiants to promotion from League Two in 2013 after being named player of the year in the previous campaign. He followed that successful stint with two seasons at Gillingham after deciding to move back to Kent.

Maidstone-born Loft made more than 400 appearances in an 18-year career.

Port Vale paid their own special tribute to Loft at the weekend. A memorial video was shown inside Vale Park before their league game against Chesterfield, with another former Gills player, Micky Adams, among those reflecting on Loft's time with the Valiants.

Vale’s starting XI also wore walkout jackets with 'LOFT 7' on the back and there was a minute's applause ahead of kick-off. Doug’s wife Laura was in attendance at the game alongside their daughters, as well as his mum, dad, brother and sister.

Vale beat Chesterfield 1-0 and the club dedicated the win “for Lofty”.

Gillingham’s current midfielder Bradley Dack is a former team-mate of Loft, with the pair playing 62 games together for the club. He also played alongside Omar Beckles at Shrewsbury.

Later in his career, Loft played for Tonbridge Angels and was in the same team as Scott Wagstaff, who is now Gillingham’s youth team manager.

Gills boss Gareth Ainsworth admitted Loft would have fitted into his current dressing room.

He said: “I played