Garry Richards back in a Gills shirt on Saturday Picture: Barry Goodwin

By Luke Cawdell

Garry Richards is looking forward to the challenge of facing League 2 leading scorer Adam Le Fondre when Gillingham take on Rotherham at Priestfield on Tuesday.

Defender Richards made his first start for the Gills since April 2010 at the weekend against Oxford, following a long recovery from a broken foot, and he’s ready to take anything thrown at him.

Le Fondre leads the division’s goal charts and made it 19 for the season on Saturday, as he attempts to beat last season’s 27-goal mark.

"That’s a challenge isn’t it and that’s the kind of player who you want to face week in, week out," said the 24-year-old centre-back.

"You want to play and compete against the best, hopefully come out on top and then bring on the next game. I’m sure myself and Matt (Lawrence) can build on Saturday’s performance."

Richards returned to the side last week, after replacing injury-victim Josh Gowling, and now he’s out to prove he is worthy of keeping his place in the team.

"The opportunity has come around for me now and I just need to grab that with both hands," he said.

"It’s good to go back into a side that are picking up results and hopefully I can help them continue to do that."