By Luke Cawdell

Adebayo Akinfenwa hailed the impact of sports psychologist Ashley Lawrence for helping to transform his Gillingham career.

Lawrence was brought in after Gillingham hit their lowest point of the season in early November with the FA Cup first round defeat to Dover.

Akinfenwa (pictured), who walked off to a standing ovation on Tuesday during the 3-0 win over Port Vale, has been helped by the openness that has been encouraged at the club.

The striker said: "He (Lawrence) has made a massive difference by just sitting down and talking.

"Sometimes it’s nice to have someone to bridge the gap between the players and the management and that’s what Ash has done."

Akinfenwa was a fans favourite at previous club Northampton but it has taken time to win over the Gillingham supporters.

He said: "I don’t shy away from anything. I’m a big guy literally and inside my heart, things weren’t going right.

"I pulled every single one of the management staff aside and said things weren’t going right and I didn’t feel myself.

"It’s good to talk and the management staff here are good at that. You can talk to them and get things off your chest."