Former Gillingham midfielder Neil Smith has been tipped to take over at Priestfield following the departure of Steve Evans.

After a woeful run of results that saw The Gills drop to 22nd in League One, Gillingham and Evans parted ways on Sunday afternoon with Assistant Manager Paul Raynor also heading out the Priestfield door.

With no management team now in place and a squad of players now needing to prepare for Saturday’s League One clash at home to Burton Albion, chairman Paul Scally seems set to make a quick appointment with Neil Smith seemingly the likely candidate.

Smith is no stranger to Gills fans having played for the club between 1991 and 1997 and has managerial experience with Welling United before joining Bromley in 2011 as Assistant Manager.

After an interim spell in charge at Hayes Lane, Smith was appointed on a full-time basis in 2016 and would spend five years in charge of the National League side.

Many Bromley fans would argue that Smith was allowed to leave the club too soon, but with a decent reputation and in recent months has spent time at Priestfield, watching many of Gillingham’s games.

A local man with an interest in the club, Smith would be welcomed by some of Gillingham’s support, but others will question why an appointment of another former player is the way to go, especially for a side seven points adrift in the League One relegation zone.

With the likes of Michael Flynn, Andy Hessenthaler and Neil Harris also linked with the vacant position at Gillingham, fans will be keen to know who the new man will be.

KSN understands an appointment will be made quite quickly to bring stability to the club with bookmakers seemingly convinced Smith will be that man.

Picture supplied by Ed Boyden Photos.