Steve says Taylor was unfortunate to lose his job but says Hessenthaler will give Gills boost

Steve Davis is expecting an even tougher game against Gillingham this week after they appointed club legend Andy Hessenthaler as the temporary replacement to Peter Taylor, who unfortunately lost his job on New Year’s Eve.

Davis was a fan of the former England Under-21 coach but he knows that the appointment of Hessenthaler will give those players who were out of the picture under Taylor more of a chance to impress.

Ahead of this weekend’s fixture at the Alexandra Stadium, Steve told the club’s official web-site: “Gillingham have a new manager in Andy, who knows the club very well. It will be a tough game.

“We know that when a new manager goes into a club it can give players a lift because they will see it as a fresh opportunity to impress. Sometimes they can come out of the cold to become a part of the new manager’s plans.

“Gillingham have good players and it is unfortunate Pete lost his job because he collected a good group. They were unlucky to lose at Port Vale recently. It was an open game which could have gone either way and Vale just nicked it in stoppage time.

The boss added: “For us, they are no different to Bristol or Preston, they are another team in this league and we want to try to win the game.”