By Luke Cawdell

Danny Jackman drew praise following his 150th appearance for Gillingham on Saturday, with manager Andy Hessenthaler describing the defender as an unsung hero.

While the young Gills players have been capturing the headlines in recent weeks one of the club’s more experienced players has stayed under the radar.

Hessenthaler was keen to acknowledge the 29-year-old who has recently been doing a steady job at left-back, after the Gills boss reshuffled his defence.

Speaking after Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Torquay, Hessenthaler said: "Jacko takes a lot of plaudits from me. He has been a bit of an unsung hero.

"If you watch his performances he is pretty much 7 or 8 out of 10 every week. He was steady as anything."

Jackman (pictured) has had to forgo his preferred midfield role to fill in at the back after Gillingham went through a sticky period. It was a decision that Hessenthaler admits wasn’t easy.

"It was a real tricky one," said the Gills boss. "We have Joe Martin there who is disappointed he is not playing. Sometimes when you put Jacko back there (in defence) you end up taking him away from that midfield area, where he really does create as well, but we put him in there and it's worked for us at the moment.

"That’s what I would say, for the moment. Because things can change very quickly."

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