Gillingham’s greatest ever triumph in the professional game was against Chesterfield 28 years ago.

First team coach Steve Lovell was part of the team that won that game 10-0 at Priestfield but he struggles to remember it with any fondness.

Having scored four the previous week in an 8-1 home win over Southend the club’s leading scorer somehow managed to fire blanks as his team-mates went goal-crazy against the Spireites.

“I was the most disappointed you would ever likely to be after winning 10-0,” admitted the Gills coach, as he recalled the famous win.

“It’s amazing. You win the game 10-0 but as a player you are disappointed. I was shooting from everywhere and in the end the manager Keith Peacock brought me off because I was a nuisance trying to score. I was shooting from everywhere because I wanted to score.

“It was a crazy week, 18 goals in two home games. We went away to Wigan on the Tuesday and won there as well. It would be nice to replicate that again.”

Despite those scores, Peacock’s season ended with him getting the sack and he even lost out when the goals were flying in.

“Keith Peacock couldn’t believe it,” said former Gills striker Lovell. “He ran a little book and on the wall there was a list of possible scorers for the Southend game. We all had a little pound on ourselves, 6-1 to whatever, so I made a few quid on that one.

“He lost about £200 on it that weekend so he thought he would do it again for Chesterfield. They hadn’t conceded a goal in the league up until then and he thought his money was safe.

“But we scored 10 and he lost £350! That was the last time he did it.”