Tough, but exciting, was how Gills head coach Ady Pennock reacted to the release of the 2017/18 season fixtures.

Gillingham will face a trip to Doncaster Rovers’ Keepmoat stadium at the start of August for their season opener.

A game at newly promoted Doncaster is followed by Gills’ first home game of the season, against last season’s losing play-off finalists Bradford City.

Speaking on Wednesday morning, when the fixtures were published, head coach Ady Pennock said: “Doncaster have just been promoted and it will be a tough one.

“It’s exciting this time of year, when the fixtures are out, looking to see who you get when.

“We’ve got a good start, a tough start, but it’s always difficult to see what teams are going to be like as there are new players in, new managers and new styles, but I’m excited by it.”

Click here for the full 2017/18 fixtures

Inbetween the opening two league matches is the Carabao Cup first round, where the Gills have been handed an away trip to Reading.

Reading missed out on promotion to the Premier League after losing to Huddersfield on penalties in the Championship play-off final.

It’s another tough one for the Gills but head coach Ady Pennock doesn’t mind.

He said: “It’s a hard one but it will be played in a fantastic stadium and we’re looking forward to it.

“They were so unlucky not to get promoted and it will be a good test for us. It’s an exciting game to be involved in and a good one for the fans.”

Pennock will get to see his players again on Friday, when they end their summer breaks.

The head coach said: “We’ll split them up, morning and afternoon and they will be fat tested and weighed and they will undergo running tests before we travel to Northern Ireland on Sunday.”