Danny Kedwell donned the captain’s armband at the weekend as a statement by boss Andy Hessenthaler for his team to "defend from the front".

Gills’ regular skipper Andy Frampton is out for several weeks with a knee injury and deputy Matt Lawrence was left out of the squad.

Kedwell, who was born in Gillingham and supported the team as a youngster, was given the honour of leading the side out at Port Vale.

Boss Andy Hessenthaler said: "I want us to defend from the front and lead from the front. He has been skipper before at other clubs.

"I could have easily given it to Simon King but he has come back into the team and he just needed to concentrate on his game with no other responsibility. That’s why I decided to go with Keds."