Gillingham assistant boss Richard Dobson with the latest on manager Gareth Ainsworth after a home draw against Cheltenham Town

Gillingham manager Gareth Ainsworth joked that Saturday’s comeback draw wasn’t great for his heart.

Ainsworth helped pick the team for their weekend game against Cheltenham, just a week after heart surgery, and was in contact with assistant boss Richard Dobson straight after the final whistle.

The Gills had plenty of goalscoring chances against Cheltenham but ended up 1-0 down late on and in need of a stoppage-time equaliser to pick up a point, one that came in the 95th minute.

Ainsworth watched the match from home and Dobson said that they’d been messaging each other straight afterwards.

Dobson said: “He texted me after the game and just said, ‘Well done, mate. You did enough to win two games there - but not sure it's been great for my heart!’”

Ainsworth’s keen to get involved when he can, but Dobson is set to remain in charge for the game at Grimsby Town next weekend.

“It's hard to stop Gaz from getting involved,” Dobson admitted.

“In an ideal world, he'd probably do a little bit less at this moment in time, but Gaz is all in.

“He cares passionately. We're obviously not going to tell him no, and we might have to pull the reins in on him at times, but he wants to be around the boys. That's just the person he is.

“He wants to be in the centre of everything, and it's really difficult for him at the moment to be on the periphery and not at Priestfield.”

Dobson’s been heading things up at Priestfield since the home defeat to Harrogate and the Gills face a tough trip to Grimsby next weekend.

“He won't be there for Grimsby, we’ve already said that’s a no” said the acting boss.

“Salford’s a possibility (the week after) but probably not at this moment in time.

“It all depends on how he recovers over the next couple of weeks.