Sittingbourne manager Chris Lynch believes on-loan Gillingham youngster Roman Campbell has a bright future.

Striker Campbell is making a big impact at Bourne, scoring three times in as many games before Tuesday night's Bostik South East 2-0 defeat at home to Ashford.

Lynch can only see good things happening for highly-rated Campbell, who is with Sittingbourne for the rest of the season.

He said: “I think Roman’s a fantastic acquisition. We’re lucky to have him.

“I’ve been following him now for about a year with his youth exploits with Gillingham.

“He got some great goals there, I needed a No.9 and we knew Roman was doing the business for them but he needed a bit of first-team experience.

“When the deal came off it was great for everyone involved and since he’s been here he’s been a model professional. He’s scored three in three games and he looks a real threat at this level.

“I’ve no doubt he will go on to play league football at a higher standard in the men’s game in the next couple of years.”

Campbell is one of three Gillingham players on loan at Sittingbourne, along with defender Jack Morrell and midfielder Henry Woods.

Gills know their youngsters are in good hands, particularly given Lynch’s background in youth football with Dover.

He said: “That’s what really assists us in terms of my background previously and having a big interest in youth and the progression of youngsters.

“It’s very easy to get lost and end up coming out of the professional game because they’re not doing it at a senior level.

“The issue being because they’re not treated correctly, they’re not looked after in the way they should be.

“So it’s very important the relationships between any manager and the parent club is a strong one, even so much as filling out reports on a weekly basis, which is what I do for Gillingham.

“It has to be the right selections for the right games as well. You can’t just expect a youth player, no matter how good they are, to suddenly jump straight into a first-team men’s game where the attributes are massively different and be a success.”

Sittingbourne visit Three Bridges this Saturday.