Some of Gillingham's younger players are putting themselves in the frame for a start at Accrington.

Manager Steve Lovell is starting to make decisions on who will play in the League 1 opener at the Crown Ground on August 4.

Shirts are still up for grabs but performances in the latest pre-season friendlies have given the boss food for thought.

One Gills side lost 2-0 at Ebbsfleet on Saturday while the other was winning 3-0 at Dover.

Lovell said: "I haven’t played the full, strong XI all through pre-season. I’ve had to look at the new boys coming in and whether they fit in – and they’ve fitted in very nicely.

"A lot of the young boys who have come in have made me realise they are good players and they can be in my first team – and that’s why I signed them.

"They’ve really shone and put themselves in the forefront of perhaps starting.

"It’s about getting a team together in the system we’re going to play at Accrington and working on that in the next two weeks.

"By the time we go to Colchester on Saturday, it'll be putting out a team that still could be tinkered with if we need to but putting out a team that will most probably start on August 4."

Lovell's unlikely to do any more transfer business before then but he hasn't completely ruled it out.

"I think I’ve got a good squad now," he said. "We’re hoping everybody stays fit for the start.

"There’s always a chance of something turning up at the last minute but at the moment I’m quite happy with what we’ve got.

"We’re still without Tom Eaves and Conor Wilkinson but Conor should be back for Tuesday or Saturday so it’ll only be Tom missing in the next couple of weeks.

"Tom has a little ligament injury and hopefully he’ll be ready for the second game of the season.

"We’re all right and it’s just a matter of us putting out a team now to gel together in the next couple of weeks."