Rob Maddams joins Gills backroom staff for Accrington game
Gillingham Football Club welcomed a new face to the dugout on Saturday when prize winner Rob Maddams joined Martin Allen and the backroom staff to carry out his `manager for a day` experience.
Rob was sat on the bench throughout the game against Accrington Stanley on Saturday and had a behind the scenes view on how everything happens on a match day.
He came away afterwards very happy and considered himself fortunate to have had such an opportunity.
Speaking to the club website after Saturday’s game Rob said:
“My dad actually won the prize at the Take Heart dinner back in November; I also did the training day with one of my friends aswell so he won that and said you can come along to this aswell.
“It has been absolutely brilliant and I’m very lucky to see behind the scenes and how it works.
“It’s all a bit surreal because they are the players you watch week in, week out and you see how it all comes together.
“There are pads and papers that are constantly being turned over so they knew what was going to happen if somebody came on for Accrington.
“You don’t think about what goes in to the planning, every step is thought about and that’s why we are top of the league.”
Rob talked us through how his day panned out and was grateful for feeling so welcomed by everybody at the club.
He added: “I got introduced to everyone and lots of people came up and said hello and they made me feel really welcome.
“You see it from a different angle and who interacts with who and how the players react, it was really good.
“I came in and sat in the manager’s office for a bit with Martin Allen, John Schofield and Carl Muggleton.
“We did a bit in the office and they were setting up what they wanted to do. We went and met the players in the dressing room; we then went and watched the warm-up.
“We came back in, saw everybody get ready and then watched the first half from the bench.
“I watched the second half and was in the Manager’s office again afterwards. I was lucky to do something like that and it was brilliant.
“It’s been a fun day and I got to see how it all comes together rather than just sit in the stand and watching the work that goes in to winning and being top of the league.
“Martin, John Schofield and Carl Muggleton and the backroom staff got me involved and never left me.
“I am very grateful to everyone that has made it happen.”
To read what Manager Martin Allen had to say about the game click here.