Steve Lovell watched the Gills from the sidelines as part of a four-man caretaker management team and would love to do it full-time.

The Gills went down to a 2-1 defeat at Port Vale but those fans who travelled watched their team attack their hosts from the off on Saturday.

It’s something Lovell and the rest of the management team, consisting of Andy Hessenthaler, Darren Hare and Mark Patterson, are keen to see continue.

Lovell, the former Gills and Wales international striker, said: “All we know is that we will come in Monday and work towards the game on Tuesday until we are told otherwise.

“The four of us will work together. We are a good team. We have been at the club a long time, we know each other, we know what we want, we all sing off the same hymn sheet and all we want is success for this football club.

“All of us love the club and we want to make sure the right thing happens here.”

If asked, Lovell – the Gills under-18 manager – and the rest of the coaching staff would be thrilled to stay in charge of the first team.

“I see no reason why we shouldn’t,” he said. “We love the club, we are all experienced people and we have been in the game a long time.

“We have all done our coaching badges, all have worked with people, whether that’s semi-pro or professional. We have worked with men, worked with groups and worked at the club. We want success for the club, whether that’s us or another manager.”

The caretaker team were put in charge following Peter Taylor’s sacking on New Year’s Day.

Since then chairman Paul Scally has been considering applications for a replacement.

See Monday's Medway Messenger for the full interview