Gillingham captain Max Ehmer loves Steve Evans’ open-door policy at Priestfield.

As skipper, Ehmer speaks regularly to Evans but every player is welcome in the manager’s office.

Ehmer said: “I have chats with him, whether that be on a Friday afternoon, or phone calls or texts, but he’s an open gaffer so anyone can go and have a chat with him.

“If something needs to be said he’ll say it directly to the boys or pull people in one-on-one.

“It’s an open door where anyone can say what they need to say and it works both ways. He’s good like that.

“First of all, you want to know where you stand with him, if he’s got an issue, or if he’s happy with you, you just want to know those things.

“There’s nothing worse than not knowing what he’s thinking but he’s not one to hide his words.”

There have been good times at Gillingham during Ehmer’s five years with the club, principally a promotion challenge under Justin Edinburgh in 2015/16.

Generally, though, they’ve been battling at the wrong end of the table so the play-off talk that comes with a 10-game unbeaten run is most welcome.

Ehmer said: “The boys are excellent and being on a good run makes everything much more enjoyable.

“We have had good spells in my time here but it seems the last couple of years we’ve always been looking over our shoulder.

“This year we’re looking forward, we’re chasing the play-offs rather than how many points we are away from safety. It’s good.

“We had that year with Justin Edinburgh where we were top for ages but since then, whatever group it’s been, we’ve not been where we wanted to be and now we are.

“Being captain is an honour in itself, I can’t thank the gaffer enough for that.

“There are some young boys in there but it’s an easily manageable group because everyone’s so professional, everyone gets on. It’s a tight-knit group, so there’s not too much for me to do if I’m being honest.”

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