Gillingham will have 44 players on parade this Saturday.

The Gills begin a month of pre-season games across Kent with matches at Sheppey United and Folkestone Invicta.

Manager Steve Lovell is giving every one of his players, including youth team members, 45 minutes of action.

Both games kick off at 12.30pm, to avoid clashing with England's World Cup match against Sweden.
Lovell plans to send most of his senior players to Folkestone but insists that doesn’t mean he has anything against those taking on Southern Counties East side Sheppey.

He said: “It will be a younger team at Sheppey, with two or three first teamers, but the majority of the older pros will be at Folkestone.

“I want to emphasise that just because the boys are going to Sheppey doesn’t mean that they are not going to be included in the first team this year, it is just that we have got quite a lot of players and it is important that everyone gets 45 minutes.

“There are 44 players going to two games, including some of the youth team players and for them to get a run out is important, so they can get an idea of how the first team work. It will be good for them to get involved.”

The Gillingham players head into the weekend games with two weeks of pre-season training behind them.

Lovell added: “Saturday is mainly to get minutes for the boys and get them prepared for August 4, but we are going on Saturday to put on a performance and all the individuals playing will want to impress, including new boys on show for the first time.”

The Gills boss is also likely to announce his new captain for the 2018/19 campaign, handing him the armband in the Folkestone match.