Gillingham captain Stuart O’Keefe refused to come off the pitch on Saturday after a nasty cut to the face.

Manager Neil Harris had already prepared youngster Josh Chambers to take his place after seeing O’Keefe need lengthy treatment for a gash below the right eye. The midfielder had accidentally collided with team-mate Vadaine Oliver and a stretcher was called for initially before he got to his feet and returned to action.

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O’Keefe’s determination to stay on the pitch and get the job done against Sheffield Wednesday was just the kind of attitude that Harris wants in his men.

“The players gave everything and Stuart O’Keefe epitomises what we are about as a group,” said the Gills boss.

“Win, lose or draw, play well or don’t play well, that is what I want from my group and what a Neil Harris team will always give.

“I said to Stuart, ‘come on, you have to leave the pitch’, but he said ‘no, I am not coming off’ and that is what you want, it epitomises the group and shows the quality of men that I have got in abundance.

“Stuart is the captain, the leader, the one I turn to when I want information about how the players are and how they are feeling, he is the one I trust.

“When I say ‘are you coming off?’ and he says no, well he is getting on with it then.

“He managed the game well, but it is unfair to talk about any one player, it was a team performance.”

Gillingham moved out of the bottom four in League 1 with a goalless draw against Sheffield Wednesday.