Gillingham defender Simon King made an impressive return to the side on Saturday, leading manager Mark Stimson to compare him to Spurs legend Gary Mabbutt.

King opened the scoring against Macclesfield with an early header and despite carrying an ankle injury he helped Gillingham’s defence stabilise after Tuesday night’s 4-4 draw with Aldershot.

“Again he was absolutely outstanding,” said Stimson. “He played with an ankle that wasn’t perfect but that’s Simon King and he’s a big, big player for us.

“He’s a left-footed centre-half and he gives us good balance. He also has a lot of quality and it was great to see him back out there.

“He reminds me very much of a Gary Mabbutt type of centre-half, who is not 6ft 1in or 6ft 2in but has a great spring and plays for the team every single week and every single training session.

“I was fortunate as a young player to be at Spurs when Gary Mabbutt played and he was someone to look up to.

“He was absolutely phenomenal and Kingy really does remind me of him with the way he springs and heads the ball and he also has good ability.”

King missed the midweek game through injury and the Gills boss left it to the player to decide if he was ready.

“Sometimes you have to leave it to the players,” said Stimson. “He was really focused to play, we went with it and he was outstanding.”