It proved to be an emotional trip back to Swansea for Gillingham boss Steve Lovell.

Ever since the FA Cup draw paired the Gills with his hometown club Swansea, Lovell has been relishing the chance to take his side to the Liberty Stadium.

Both he and his late father played for the Welsh outfit.

Lovell said: “Before the game it was emotional, my Dad would have loved to be there, to see it.

“He put a lot of time and effort into me to become a professional footballer and he would have been proud. He would be happy Swansea won 4-1!

“It would have been lovely to have had him see it but I had my mum and my sister there and they could give me all the pats on the back because I needed them!”

It was back to his mum’s for tea after the match.

“She is a Swansea supporter so she might give me a bit more!” he joked after the match.

“Whatever it is I’ll eat it – I get told off otherwise, even at my age.”

Lovell’s team lost 4-1 and while the result was a disappointment, the occasion wasn’t.

“It was great to come back to my home town,” he said. “It’s a great stadium, a big crowd, they were fantastic and behind their team all day, it was lovely to go back.

“It was disappointing not to get a result but the performance was the main thing and if we can take that forward we will be fine.

“It has been nice but we’ll be back to work again this week to be ready for Tuesday (at home to Accrington).”