Gillingham captain Armani Little was praised by manager Gareth Ainsworth after playing in their weekend game against Salford City

Gillingham manager Gareth Ainsworth saluted his “warrior” captain Armani Little and hinted that he may be here next season.

The Gills skipper is approaching the end of his second season with the Gills, and no formal announcement has been made about his future beyond the current campaign.

Ainsworth had feared his captain, Little, would miss the final few weeks of the season after suffering a nasty finger injury against Accrington Stanley a week ago, but the 29-year-old midfielder declared himself fit for the game at Salford after returning to training ahead of the match.

That kind of dedication was appreciated by the manager and he spoke highly of his captain after the goalless draw at Salford.

“He’s just a warrior,” said the manager.

“His finger was a real mess. We saw the x-ray, we saw the flesh wound that he had. What a top guy.

“He's captain of this club and he wants to drive this club forward. He's excited for the next season, but he wants to finish this season well.”

It’s been a tough couple of seasons for the Gills, during the two years Little has been at the club.

Ainsworth was asked to clarify whether Little would be here next season.

He said: “He's very excited for next season. All in due course, you know, the lads will be here next season. I want to do all that stuff privately behind the scenes.

“Bradley [Dack’s contract extension] was announced [on Thursday] and that was fantastic. We've got to now forge this squad to be a competitive, match-winning squad.

“Armani has impressed me since the day I walked in. Watch this space.”

Ainsworth added: “When I came in we talked about how I don't want him just to be a captain by example. I do want that massively on the pitch, but not just that. There's got to be some