A rejuvenated Lee Martin can’t wait to show what he is all about.

A serious ankle injury at the end of last pre-season left the 30-year-old sidelined until mid-February.

When he did return – several months ahead of schedule – he still wasn’t able to show his very best.

But with a handful of games at the end of last season and a full and promising summer behind him, it’s all systems go this time around for the new Gills skipper.

He said: “It is difficult to judge me off the back end of last season because I was coming in with no base (fitness) and six months (out injured) does take its toll.

“I had to find my feet. I did OK but not to the levels that I would normally set. Hopefully, this season is a totally different ball game.”

The former Manchester United and Ipswich player, who was officially named Gills captain for 2017/18 on Thursday, has already looked the part in pre-season.

He said: “I have enjoyed pre-season and my sharpness is back. It was a long-term injury and arguably I should only be coming back from it now.

“When I first did it I was told 9-12 months out, so to slash that in half is brilliant.

“It benefited me to get part of a season but I wouldn’t say that was a great season for me. I was just finding my feet and getting as many minutes as possible.

"I feel fit, confident and think the boys are looking right up there in terms of physical stats, they are through the roof. We look really organised. Hopefully we can take that into the season.”

---

Doncaster v Gillingham

Injured pair winning fitness battle

Head coach eager to prove doubters wrong

Chairman feels that anything is possible

League 1 preview: Gills tipped for relegation

---

Martin now has the captain’s armband but feels there are plenty of leaders within the squad.

He said: “It is always an honour to represent the club as a captain but it is not just one person.

“Gabs (Zakuani) has been captain previously and has led by example.

“The boys stepped up from last year. Max (Ehmer) has come into his own, he is more vocal having had the arm band last season.

“Josh Wright has always been a captain, Scott Wagstaff as well, he has been brilliant.

“There are loads of good people around the place and leaders.”

While the Gills might not be fancied this season, Martin has seen plenty of times when the so-called bigger sides fail.

He said: “Confidence is built within and it’s not necessarily talent. We have seen it before. I saw it in the Championship when teams got relegated from the Premier League. They were expected to go straight back up, but the likes of Leeds struggled.

“It is quite good being an underdog , we’ll take that. We just worry about ourselves and let others do the talking. We are compact, we are hard to beat and they are the foundations of any good team.”

Follow kentonlinegills on twitter for updates throughout Saturday as the Gills kick off their League 1 season at Doncaster.