Gillingham training session “up there with the best” says assistant boss Richard Dobson ahead of Grimsby Town match

Gillingham’s experienced coach Richard Dobson said this week’s training has been some of the best he’s ever seen.

The Gills’ assistant manager now hopes the players can replicate their training ground showing where it matters most.

Dobson’s in caretaker charge at the club while the manager recovers from heart surgery, and the players haven’t been taking their foot off the gas while the boss is away - quite the opposite.

There’s a buzz around Priestfield and even a run of three games without a win hasn’t dampened the atmosphere.

Dobson said: “Tuesday's training session was up there amongst one of the best in 25 years of coaching. I loved it. I loved watching the boys.

“When they start to really believe how good they can be and take the shackles off, as I saw on Tuesday, then I'm looking forward to the fans seeing that version of us.

“As a coach, you're constantly assessing what you're seeing in front of you. The attitude was first class. There was a competitiveness about it that didn't spill over into anything untoward.

“They were really competitive in the way that they trained: the standard and the quality.

“For me, I'm big on creativity and players expressing themselves.

“They did that on Tuesday. It's something that I keep talking to them about. I love people showing the best version of themselves.

“I think there are a lot of footballers that probably play football, get to the end of their careers and go, ‘I wish I'd expressed myself more. I wish I'd let myself play this pass a little bit more or try this trick in the right areas’.

“I want the players to show what they've got, what they've spent years practising, when it comes to three o'clock on a Saturday.

“To see them play as well as they did on Tuesday in a really