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Paul Raynor will be new Gills boss Steve Evans’ right-hand man – and he can’t wait to get the boots on again.
Raynor, 52, has been Evans’ long-time assistant and will be joining him at Priestfield.
He spoke briefly at the Gills press conference on Thursday but prefers to do his talking on the training field.
Raynor said: “I let the gaffer and the chairman do the talking about budgets, etc – and I do my work on the training field.
“I hope to bring my experience to the coaching team, my knowledge, that’s where I do my talking.
“I am excited to be going back out there after three or four months away from it.
"I enjoyed getting my boots out of the cupboard and back in the car, ready to go. I am really looking forward to it.”
Evans and Raynor are likely to have Mark Patterson with them as part of the coaching team. He was the assistant to former boss Steve Lovell and took caretaker charge for the last two games of the season.
Patterson is someone Raynor is looking forward to working with.
“His links with the club are important,” said Raynor.
“His knowledge of the players still here, of everything, that’s exciting. He has been here a long time, he has a passion for the club and his knowledge of the game is going to be invaluable and that will be a plus for us.”
As a midfielder, Raynor had a long playing career that started at hometown club Nottingham Forest under Brian Clough, a manager who has helped shape a lot of his own footballing philosophies.
He also had a season in China with Guangdong Hongyuan and spent five years with Swansea, making close to 200 appearances.
Raynor started his coaching career with Sheffield United and was player-manager at Hednesford Town but since then he’s been Evans’ long-time No.2.
They have worked together ever since their time at Boston United back in 2004, taking the unfashionable Lincolnshire side from the Southern League to the Football League.
He and Evans enjoyed success at Crawley Town and then Rotherham, where they registered back-to-back promotions. He was assistant head coach at Leeds, again under Evans.
They were together again at Mansfield Town and were mounting a promotion push before leaving for Peterborough United earlier this year.
