Gillingham assistant manager Richard Dobson thanks League Managers’ Association for providing health checks – as boss Gareth Ainsworth has heart surgery

Gillingham’s stand-in boss has praised the League Managers’ Association for protecting their health - as Gareth Ainsworth undergoes a heart operation.

Manager Ainsworth will be sidelined while he recovers from the surgery, which was expected to take place ahead of this weekend. Richard Dobson is stepping up from his no.2 role to take the reins.

Dobson has faced the same checks as Ainsworth, from the same doctor, and was pleased that a potential issue was detected early.

“I've got to credit the LMA,” he said. “They've supplied these health checks for management.

“We all know that management is a pressure cooker and told about what it can do physically.

“They do these [health checks] on a regular basis, and this was picked up on one of Gaz's. It was something (the operation) that needed to be done. Gaz could pick and choose when that was done, so it wasn't like they needed to rush him straight in.

“Having spoken with the owners and the rest of the staff, it was decided that this would be the right time to do it.

“It's something that needs to happen because who knows how that manifests further down the line, in terms of life. So hugely thankful to the LMA.

“I actually had the same health check about a month ago. They check everything, and you end up with a huge report at the end of it, in all areas of your body.

“I was fortunate, I came back with a clean bill of health, and you get peace of mind through doing it.

“But what if you get that one moment in the health check that suddenly shows something and you could be in a world of trouble if you didn't know?

“Massively thankful to the LMA. I've got to also credit the doctor, Dr Peter Williamson, who did my test, he did Gareth's test and you talk about unsung heroes in life