Deon Burton leads the Gills off the pitch after scoring Monday's winner

by Luke Cawdell

A winning goal on Monday and an energetic display against Rotherham may have helped persuade Deon Burton that there are still a few more seasons left in him.

The 36-year-old has made 40 appearances for the Gills this season after being brought back into English football by his former team-mate Martin Allen.

The pair played together at Portsmouth, when Burton was just starting his career as a professional in the mid-90s.

It has been an eventful career. Burton has played international football for Jamaica, spent two years playing in Azerbaijan – before signing for the Gills at the start of this season – and once cost Derby £1m for his services.

Gillingham were his 12th English club and he has made more than 500 league appearances, and scored 122 goals.

His goal on Monday took the Gills one step closer to League 1 but Burton has yet to announce whether he will be sticking around.

He said: "At this stage of my career to be able to get another promotion would be great and we are close, so hopefully I can achieve that.

"On Monday’s performance I would like to think I’ve got a few more years left." And asked whether that could be with the Gills, he said: "We will see what happens."

Burton’s energy this season has belied his age but he puts that down to the player management that is undertaken during the week.

He said: "Sometimes it’s the work we don’t do off the pitch that helps, with the rest and the time we get off and knowing how to manage players, knowing which players need a little more rest and getting the best out of them for Saturday."

Burton is in as much as the seniors but said with a grin: "I train the same as the other players but probably don’t train as hard."

"They were amazing (on Monday), vocal and got behind us and hopefully we can do the same against Torquay."

Picture: Barry Goodwin