Manager Gareth Ainsworth is excited for the future of the Gillingham team he has put together after a year that has flown by since undergoing open-heart surgery

A year on from a “brutal” heart operation and Gareth Ainsworth can barely believe how much has changed.

The Gillingham boss describes the period around his open-heart surgery as a crazy period of his life – but 12 months on, he is feeling fit and looking ahead with plenty of optimism.

Ainsworth went under the knife on October 3 last year, just weeks after leading the Gills to a club-record 21-game unbeaten league run at Newport.

He was then absent for a month as that impressive start to the season unravelled, with the Gills never managing to rediscover their early-season form.

Now, exactly a year on from the operation, Ainsworth's Gillingham side face Newport County at Priestfield – the same team they beat 3-1 just two weeks before his surgery.

“It's almost like I don't want to hear about that record run because the season went so bad after that,” said the Gills boss.

“The next weekend was Harrogate [and then] I went for my operation. I can't believe it's been a year since then. And that's crazy.

“How much have we changed in a year? That's what I want to say. Look at the squad now. Look at the changes.

“This is the new Gillingham. This is what I wanted.

“We’ve got one or two too many injuries. Yeah, I understand that. That hasn't changed too much. But we will keep working and striving to keep these players fit because I need performance after performance.

“A year ago since the heart surgery, it’s mental to say that. But fine, fit now and even had a game of paddle [the other] night. No worries.”

Ainsworth spent many hours having treatment before waking up the following day after his surgery.

He remembers waking midway through Gillingham’s game against MK Dons, which the Gills lost 3-2.

“I woke up halfway through the MK