Gills look to give youth a chance

"The key thing to understand is that we now have a manger at the club who will play young players," he said in an interview with the club.

"As a player himself, at just 16-17, he was playing professional first team football in the Scottish Premier League in front of about 80,000 people at Celtic Park. He believes that if they're good enough they're old enough - it's great for somebody in the youth department to work beneath a manager who's like that.

"He will always come over and watch a session for 20 minutes, he will be at games and he gets to know them quite quickly. Lots of youngsters could get a chance here.

"Having spent two years with Neale, I recognise how he wants things done, how he likes his teams to play and I have an insight into what he's expecting from the young players. Hopefully that can accelerate things."

Paterson takes over the role vacated by Darren Hare, as well as managing Gillingham's reserve team - and he is clearly relishing the prospect of working at Priestfield.

"Darren did an excellent job, and Bryan Bull, who runs the Centre of Excellence, is doing an excellent job. There's a solid foundation in place and things look very healthy but like any new person coming into a job, I'm going to want to add my own ideas and philosophies.

"The number one thing I'm interested in at the minute is ensuring that we're able to make a more informed decision regarding the under-16s we're offering modern apprenticeships to.

"We want to work with schools and enable them to come in on a Friday for a day's training with the youth team as that'll give them an insight into what daily life's like at a professional club. They will see our expectations and standards which we set and it will enable us to see them in a different environment.

"We want youth players to have the opportunity to be embedded in the culture and fabric of the club so that it becomes very dear to them."

A major part of Paterson's role will involve finding young talented players and bringing them to Priestfield to encourage them to pursue their dreams at Gillingham. He also stated that while bringing new talent to the club is important, it is just as vital that the club retains that talent and gives it the right environment in which it can blossom.

"One of things we're also looking at is the recruitment strategy, as the ability to bring in players is critical for the club.

"The retention of players is also very important. Hopefully we'll be producing players who will save the club a lot of money in terms of transfer fees and ultimately we might be able to sell one or two later on."

Gillingham's newest coaching recruit is a genuine student of the game - and has worked extensively in the football development field. He has a degree in Science in Football - and has analysed coaching methods at Dutch side Ajax and French side Auxerre as well as Premiership outfits Everton and Aston Villa. He was Hartlepool United's technical development manager before getting the call to move south and join Cooper at Gillingham - a move that he didn't hesitate to make.

"I definitely wanted to come to Gillingham as I could see the potential here," he said.

With the old guard on the playing staff moving on, and with key areas of the management being changed, it certainly seems as if a wind of change is blowing through Priestfield at the moment. It seems Gillingham will soon be a younger, hungrier, fitter, technically better team than in previous seasons - and that can only be good news for the club and its fans.

It all bodes well for the club's future.