Cody McDonald and his Gillingham team-mates have been told they will win the League 1 title – by boss Martin Allen.

The likes of Wolves and Sheffield United stand in Gills’ way but summer signing McDonald has welcomed Allen’s confidence ahead of the season.

He said: “The manager’s telling us we’re going to win it, which is good because if you don’t set your standards high then what’s the point in being here?

“So we’re going in with the mentality that we’re going to win the league, which every team should do and we’ll see how we go first few games into the season. There’s no reason why we can’t go and challenge at least.

“You’ve got to take him seriously. He’s a confident person and that oozes through the players. If the manager’s confident, he gets the lads going all the time and if you can’t get your confidence up by winning the league the season before, then you’re never going to.”

McDonald joined Gills on a two-year deal from Coventry last month following a summer of speculation.

He had other options but wanted to return to the club where he enjoyed two successful loan spells. The former Norwich forward scored 25 goals in 41 appearances in partnership with Adebayo Akinfenwa in 2010/11 and struck four times in six games last season before being recalled by Coventry.