Andy Hessenthaler has praised the honesty of former Gillingham boss Glenn Roeder.

Roeder died at the weekend at the age of 65 following a long battle with a brain tumour.

The duo never crossed paths at Priestfield - but it was at Hessenthaler’s first professional club, Watford, where they met with Roeder making the midfielder his captain.

“I signed for Watford under Steve Perryman but when he lost his job they gave it to Glenn,” said Hessenthaler.

“I still remember the day when he called me into his office and he told me that he wanted me to lead the team and be captain.

“I had a lump in my throat, it was a proud moment for me to be captain of Watford and I can’t thank him enough.

“My heart goes out to his wife Faith and kids on his passing. I had a good time with Glenn, he gave me that opportunity to be captain and he was great friends with Paul Gascoigne so I was introduced to him at the time and that was fantastic.”

They say every manager takes a characteristic from someone they played under in their playing days - and Roeder’s honesty with his players stood out for Hessenthaler.

“Glenn was a real, honest manager,” said Hessenthaler. “You pick things up from people in the game and that stood out for me.

“He wouldn’t not tell you why you had been left out, and I believe that’s how it should be.

“He wouldn’t ignore the players, he’d explain why he’s made that decision and that’s what players want.

“You have to be honest as a person and I think you get more from people like that.”

Roeder went on to manage Newcastle and West Ham, as well as being part of the England coaching staff under Glenn Hoddle.

Many regarded him as a better coach than manager, and he had great attention to detail on the training ground.

“He was just so thorough,” added Hessenthaler. “He was very much like Tony Pulis in that respect.

“When you went home after training you knew exactly what you’d been working on and had learnt something, then come Saturday everyone knew their jobs and he never left anything behind.

“He was very clear and thorough and you learn from things like that as well.”

On Roeder’s role in the England set-up, Hessenthaler said: “Glenn regarded him very highly as a coach and got him involved, it showed how good the guy was and what he was all about.

“He is going to be missed in football terms and it’s a sad time for everyone.”

Roeder’s first stint in management at Gillingham saw him successfully keep the club in the Football League.

Roeder managed Gillingham in the 1992/93 season in Division 3, winning 10 of his 37 games in charge.

He took over in October and helped the club avoid relegation from the Football League with victory against Halifax in the penultimate game of the season.

He left to join Watford at the end of that campaign but he left his mark on the Gills and without that accomplishment, the future might have looked very different in the Medway Towns.

Hessenthaler said: “Glenn kept Gillingham up and he left when Watford came in for him.

“I know he had a big influence at Gillingham and he was highly regarded there, and they were disappointed at the time that he left.

“It could have been totally different - he kept Gillingham in the league and they went up to League 1 and the Championship in time.”

Giving Hessenthaler the captaincy clearly had an impact on the player who would himself move on to Gillingham, a club Hessenthaler served as a player and manager twice with great distinction.

“Glenn did improve me and it was almost as soon as he gave me that responsibility that my game improved,” he said.

“I would go out there and drive the team on. He must have seen me doing things right and he put his trust in me.”

Hessenthaler added: “He was such a lovely man, a real family guy. Football is going to miss him.”

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