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Former Gillingham captain Gabriel Zakuani has lifted the lid on his exit from the club - describing the moment he confronted ex-boss Steve Evans.
Central defender Zakuani left the Gills in September 2019 after two years at the club and was prompted to tell his story of his departure after seeing Evans’ team Stevenage hit the headlines over the weekend with a superb win over Premier League Aston Villa in the FA Cup.
Zakuani insists he holds no hard feeling towards the Gills, or Evans, but his telling of what happened on the first day of training during the 2019/20 season got a lot of attention on social media on Sunday night.
He wrote that he was glad that he didn’t knock anyone out after confronting Evans in the manager’s office when it became apparent he wasn’t wanted at the club any longer.
Evans had taken over from Steve Lovell and was preparing for his first season.
He wrote: “First day of pre-season under Evans, turned up at the stadium, and remember I was the captain and whether you like it or not I was a key player for the previous 2 seasons. I walked in the changing room, my kit wasn’t laid out like all of the players, I had to ask for spare kit
“I thought surely it’s a mistake, then I looked at the squad numbers on the wall, my number 6 was blank, changing room could see this shift. It’s like the kitman knew but was scared to speak up.
“I called Scally, he ignored me so I used my other phone the one the mrs ain’t meant to know about he picked up then shit it when I started asking wtf was going on? He acted like there was a signal issue. I hadn’t even met Evans yet but I was on my way to his office.
“I walked into the wrong office because Lovell’s office was downstairs but Evans was now upstairs, I was trying to keep it cool, but my head was gone, the secretary Gwen was trying to calm me down, I was just saying where the f is he? don’t wanna put her in it but she told me.
“The closer I got the more prepared I got that I may be rolling around with his bodyguard Raynor in a few seconds lol so I tied my laces tighter just so there’s no excuses my end if it don’t go to plan, I was expecting a rumble, from seeing what Evans portrays on the sidelines.
“I banged on the door, and surprise surprise Raynor comes to the door, “can I speak to Steve?” He said you mean gaffa? I said “you f******g heard, I said Steve” at this point all respect was out of the window within 10 mins of my first day back.
“It’s like he couldn’t believe I was talking like this, his face just went proper pale he was stuttering, I pushed past him, he had a cup of tea that went all over his top in that process, there was another coach in there who I kindly told to **** off for 5 minutes with Raynor.
“Now just me and Steve in there I locked the door in the inside, Raynor was banging trying to get in.
“I’ll be honest, I was gonna go for him, just out of frustration, he was sitting in the chair not knowing what to do, I banged the table, his folders with all the tactics fell and asked why is there no trace of me at the club,no kit, no number nothing. I did kick a chair towards him.
“He was sweating, like dripping. Raynor was still trying to save his mate, he got some of the staff trying to unlock the door. Evans kept looking at the door, I even said look at me when I’m talking to you at one point, that’s when I realised I had to leave the club, respect gone.
“In the end he admitted they needed me off the wage bill as I was highest earner and no one had the balls to tell me. So I made him call Scally in front of me and they were both blaming each other, Raynor made it back in the room, ran towards Steve both behind the table.
"I would have had no problems with being told I have to leave to save the club, it’s making the club captain, come in and having to see this play out in front of my teammates that I found coward like and disrespectful.
“In the end I was glad I didn’t knock anyone out because they had planned for me to lose my rag so I could leave on gross misconduct. Evans did apologise a couple of days later and said it wasn’t in his hands etc it’s football I guess.”
Zakuani added: “Just to confirm there is no hard feelings, I had a great time at Gills and genuinely no issue with Evans, that was just principles and everything I’ve said is 100% true, I am my own boss so I don’t need to watch what I tweet.”
Anecdotes aside, It’s been a good few days for Evans, basking in FA Cup glory after also agreeing an extended deal to manage Stevenage - who sit second in League 2- until the summer of 2025.
Evans left the Gills after two and a half years in charge, clinching top-10 finishes in League 1 during his first two seasons before the club went into freefall.
