Gillingham’s Tom Nichols feels for big striker Oli Hawkins over the rough treatment he receives.

Hawkins should have had a goal on Tuesday night - in a win over Crewe - but his effort was ruled out by the referee for a foul.

“He takes a lot of hits, does a lot of unsung hero work,” Nichols said, having netted himself in that midweek win.

“I feel for him at times, he gets two or three players on him all the time and the refs just don’t give him any help.

“With the goal disallowed, he gets man-handled by three players and to give the decision against him was ridiculous.

“I do feel for him because the refs give him no sympathy whatsoever, he gets gripped by three defenders and somehow it ends up being his fault.”

While big man Oli Hawkins is usually surrounded by defenders it’s left Nichols to scamper around the box making a nuisances of himself. He netted his fourth of the season on Tuesday.

Nichols said: “It does take a lot of pressure off me and allows me to stretch the play more and be busy around him, i do enjoy playing alongside him, he is a massive piece of the puzzle.

“He is great to play with, we are winning games of football as a team which is good. I like to be busy and run around and be involved, he does help us get up the pitch, a vital part of the team.”

All of Nichols’ four goals have come from Alex MacDonald assists.

It’s the first time the pair have played together and they’ve created instant chemistry.

“You do get it in football,” Nichols said. “When he gets the ball I know he is not going to try and dribble past five players and cross it from the byline, he gets the ball and his crossing ability is unbelievable.

“As soon as he gets the ball in a dangerous area I just get myself in the box and his delivery nine times out of 10 is on the money, it is a good partnership so far, we will look to build on it with more goals and more assistant.

“I didn’t know him personally before coming here but I had played against him many times before, played with players that know him, it is just one of those connections you just get from the get-go.

“He is a very intelligent footballer and his deadball delivery is unbelievable, it has just started really well. We both benefit, he is picking up assists and I am picking up goals, we both benefit, hopefully he is enjoying it as well.”

Nichols, 29, scored three goals in his first three Gillingham appearances but then went 10 games without scoring before netting on Tuesday.

“I was aware of it but I never lost confidence,” he said. “I have been through spells before in my career where I hadn’t scored for a while and it has really played on my mind but I was getting chances most games, it was up to me to finish them and I knew it was coming. I was still getting into the right areas.

“It was nice to get back among it...Hopefully I can go on a run now.”

Nichols has six league goals this season and he’s chasing double figures as a personal target.

He said: “Not scoring for a while wasn’t ideal but I kept my confidence up, the team was winning, I wouldn’t sulk, I just had to keep putting the hard yards in.

“The team has performed well, I am loving my time here. I am on six goals in the league now, to get double figures would be a start, that would be good, that is the next target for me.”

And as for the team?

He said: “It is nice to have that gap (from the relegation zone) but we aren’t resting, a lot of games to play and points to get and we want to be a force next season, we need to keep the momentum going and picking up points.

“Getting over 40 points was a big target of ours and we’ve done that now and we have to reset and make new targets.

“We have big games coming up, they are going to be exciting, top teams are coming here and they are games they need to win, it is nothing to fear, out record is good here.

“(Saturday’s opponents) Carlisle are having a good season, a strong side, but our home form is good. It will be tough, let’s give them credit they are a good team, but we are a good side at home, it should be a really good game.”