Ady Pennock believes he has been taught by the best.

Gills' new head coach worked at Premier League Stoke City under Tony Pulis from 2007 to 2013, working his way up to first-team coach.

He had previously played under Pulis at Gillingham and believes he has taken a lot from his former boss.

Pennock said: “I have got my experience through the likes of Tony Pulis, who I think is the best British coach around.

“He is fantastic and for what he has done at Stoke I am sure that in 50-60 years time they’ll have a statue of him, because then they will have realised what he did there.

“Wherever he has been he has kept teams up and look what he is doing at West Brom.

“You learn from his good points, his bad points and I even go back to Ken Brown, when I was an apprentice at Norwich and a pro there, before Peter Taylor and Tony.

“There have been some good managers and all have their good and bad points. You have to mould them all together.

“I am very honest and open and I want the boys to enjoy their football and work hard. It is all about results, that is what it is about.”

Gills chairman Paul Scally has his own opinions of Pulis as a person, following his high-profile court case with the former boss, but has never doubted his coaching ability.

Scally said: “I considered Ady (for the job) a couple of years ago, I didn’t actually get to meet him, but I have been tracking his career since he left Gillingham.

“Much as I may have had my differences with Tony Pulis, I have always regarded him as a good coach and Ady has had a good grounding working under him.”