NATHAN ELLINGTON'S budding reputation as a striker of repute will help guard Gillingham against the threat of complacency in Saturday's FA Cup, fourth round tie against Division 3 Bristol Rovers at Priestfield.

Eighteen goals in all competitions - 16 coming in the last 12 games - plus three hat-tricks in the last eight sees the 20-year-old arrive at Priestfield as one of the most prolific and in-form strikers to have faced the Gillingham defence in recent seasons.

Ellington is the latest in a long line of free scoring Bristol Rovers strikers, following in the footsteps of Marcus Stewart, Jason Roberts, Barry Hayles, Jamie Cureton, Bobby Zamora and the legendary partnership of Bruce Bannister and Alan Warboys.

The "Duke's" second hat-trick came against Derby at Pride Park in the third round of the Cup. Gillingham player-manager Andy Hessenthaler said: "We've had Rovers watched three times and assistant manager Richard Hill saw them beat Swansea on Tuesday, so we're fully aware of the threat that they and Ellington present.

"He's got plenty of pace and is strong in the air and that goalscoring record speaks for itself. But as I keep saying, it's what we do on the day.

"We're going into the tie in the unusual position of favourites so there is going to be more pressure on the boys. But our minds will be right because we are only too aware that Rovers are a potential banana skin. The manner of our win at Preston was important because it enables us to go into the game on the back of a good win so confidence should be high."

Striker Iffy Onuora returns to strengthen the attack at the expense of midfielder Ty Gooden as Gillingham swap formations from Saturday's 4-5-1 to a 4-3-3. Mark Patterson and fit-again David Perpetuini contest the left-back slot in an otherwise unchanged side.

Should a replay be necessary, it will be at the Memorial Ground on Tuesday, February 5. The draw for the fifth round will be televised live on BBC1 at about 9pm on Sunday and also on BBC Radio 5 Live, Talksport and Sky Sports.