Goalkeeper Stuart Nelson signed a new two-year deal at Gillingham and said he would stay at the club for the next decade if he could.

The club’s player-of-the-year said: “My ideal picture would be to stay at Gillingham and push on to the next level, that’s what I aim to do.

“I was on a coaching course in the summer with Maik Taylor, an international from Northern Ireland and Birmingham and Ian Bennett, who is on the bench for Huddersfield. They are both 42 and that is my target.

“If I can play until then I have 10 years left. If I can play here for that time then I would be delighted and would never look back.

“The grass isn’t always greener and why would I look elsewhere when I am so happy here.”

Nelson was also named the supporters’ player-of-the-year this season, and he said: “The award means everything to me. Since I have been at this club, from the first minute until the last, it has been brilliant.

“If there was an award that I could give to the fans for supporting me, out of all the clubs I have been at, it would be this one."

“I feel I get supported by the fans from the moment I go out onto the pitch, through both halves and at the end. You can always find a bit more when you are getting a positive reaction off the fans."