Elliott Nevitt’s struggling for goals at Gillingham but his manager has previously felt the pain of what the striker can do.
Nevitt scored 18 goals for Crewe last season and, if selected, will come up against his old team at Priestfield this Saturday.
One of those goals last season was against Coleman’s old Accrington Stanley side – in a thrilling game that the Gills boss hasn’t forgotten.
Stanley were leading 3-2 before Nevitt scored a dramatic equaliser in the eighth minute of injury time, firing the ball home into the top corner.
“I had a disappointing game against them last year,” Coleman recalled.
“We were 2-1 down, 3-2 up, and Nev scored in the 98th minute, a bit like Liverpool’s goal (on Wednesday night). It was a heartbreaker.
“I thought (the referee) played 20 seconds too long against Crewe and I think they played 20 seconds too long [in the Liverpool game!]
Current Gillingham players Aaron Rowe and Jack Nolan traded goals inside six minutes that day, Rowe firing Alex ahead and Nolan equalising for Coleman’s side.
Crewe were leading 2-1 until a dramatic last 10 minutes.
The hosts went down to 10 men, Accrington struck twice more to lead but Nevitt was there to level.
Nevitt’s not found the same scoring form for the Gills but Coleman is working hard with the striker to try and get the best out of him.
“We know there’s goals in Nev,” he said.
“I watched all of his clips back (on Wednesday) and the work rate he gets through was phenomenal for the good of the team.
“He knows there’s areas he needs to improve on, and we’ve had a chat about that, and we’ll continue to try and modify that and try to get him to be better at his job but he gives everything he’s got.
“He has been struggling a little bit, injury-wise, with a couple of knocks but you see him a minute before he’s taken off (at Walsall), he’s galloping back to try and close a defender down. How can you ask for any more?”
Nevitt – now 17 games without a goal for Gillingham – clearly has a soft spot for his old team but Coleman would love to see him celebrating against them.
He said: “People who say, ‘oh, you shouldn’t celebrate against your old club when you score’. That’s nonsense for me.
“You’re paid to do a job for your club and if you score you should celebrate, regardless of who it is against. I’m hoping he’s got that dilemma on Saturday.”
