More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
Assistant boss Paul Raynor has confirmed that a decision is yet to be made over who will captain Gillingham this season.
Max Ehmer, who skippered the side last season, has moved to League 1 rivals Bristol Rovers this term so the position is currently vacant.
Defender Connor Ogilvie, midfielder Stuart O’Keefe and summer signing Kyle Dempsey are three leading candidates for the role.
“They will be the three contenders at the moment,” said Raynor. “They’re all experienced guys, albeit Connor is still a young man, he leads by example.
“Kyle is a real leader out there and a good talker, and obviously we know what Stuart gives us. He gives us that experience as well.
“I’ll let the gaffer decide that but there’s three good candidates there.”
Raynor was talking to the club website after a goalless pre-season friendly draw with Cambridge United in blustery conditions at Priestfield.
The weather meant it was never going to be a great spectacle but Raynor still took plenty from the match.
“I don’t think conditions helped,” he said. “It was obviously very blustery out there; that created a bit of a problem for both teams but it’s another 90 minutes under the belt.
“It’s answered a few questions in terms of looking at one or two things, particularly in the first half, with different shape and different personnel in different areas.
“It’s still a work in progress. There are still a couple of weeks to go before Southend in the Cup and we will keep working incredibly hard.
“We are packing a lot of sessions into a short space of time trying to get ready for Southend which is our first competitive game and that’s the focus – peaking at the right time, and hopefully that will be the case.”
Raynor also confirmed that the offer for Brandon Hanlan to remain at Priestfield is still on the table should the former Charlton forward decide to extend his stay with Gillingham.
“Brandon has an offer on the table and it’s up to him to decide what he wants to do,” said Raynor.
“We’d like to have him around the football club, we’d like him to stay and we’ve made that very clear.
“We’ve made him a good offer and the ball is still in Brandon’s court. We’re still giving him game time here and there to keep him ready in case he decides to put pen to paper.”
