It's been an impressive season so far for Gillingham.

Following a strong run of recent form that includes wins over the likes of promotion hopefuls Ipswich and Lincoln, the Gills are one of a long list of sides who are currently in the hunt for a play-off place in League One.

Should they manage to convert that into promotion to the Championship this season - for what would be only the  time in the club's history - then it would certainly be an impressive achievement for Steve Evans, who is now in his second campaign as manager at Priestfield.

But just how exactly does Evans compare as Gillingham manager, in comparison with some of the others to have taken on that role in recent times?

Here, in order to help find out, we've taken a look at the ten best Gillingham managers of recent years, based on their points per game record during their time in chare of the club, according to Transfermarkt, with only those to have held the role on a permanent basis included.

We start this list with Adrian Pennock in January 2017, with the club embroiled in a League One relegation battle.

Ultimately, Pennock - who had previously made almost 200 appearances as a player for Gillingham between 1996 and 2002 - was able to keep the Gills in the third-tier that season, guiding them 20th in the table, just one point and one position clear of the relegation zone in the final standings.

However, Pennock was then sacked in September 2017, after the club had won just one of their opening nine games of the league season, as Pennock left Priestfield having recorded a points per game average of 0.91.

Having left Hartlepool at the end of the 2004/05 campaign, Cooper made the move to Gillingham in May 2005, just after the club had been relegated from the Championship.

However, Cooper's stint at Priestfield was another one that did not last particularly long, with the former Aberdeen, Rangers and Aston Villa midfielder leaving the club in November of 2005, following a string of disappointing results in the league that left them third from bottom of the League One table, and an FA Cup defeat to non-league Burscough.

Cooper's departure from the club saw him leave with a points per game average of exactly 1, and he would go on to manage Peterhead and then Hartlepool for a second time, before sadly passing away in 2018.

Next up on this list is the first of Andy Hessenthaler's two spells in the Priestfield dugout, which lasted for four-and-a-half years near the start of the century.

At this point Hessenthaler was still playing for the club, having joined them in 1996, with the midfielder taking over the player-manager role following the club's promotion to the second-tier in 2000, following Peter Taylor's departure for Leicester.

Hessenthaler would keep the club in the Championship for the next four season, but after only keeping them up on goal difference in 2004, would end his managerial early the following season, with a points per game record of 1.19.

Having previously left Gillingham after guiding them to promotion to the second-tier of English football during the 1999/00 to take over at Leicester, Taylor would then return to Priestfield in October 2013, following the club's sacking of Martin Allen.

Taylor would manage to guide Gillingham to a 17th placed finish in League One that season, ensuring they finished clear of the relegation zone in the 2013/14 season.

However, Taylor would then leave his post for a second time in December 2014 (he would return for a caretaker spell just under three years later), having recorded an average of 1.27 points per game during that particular spell at Priestfield.

Following the departure of Neale Cooper from Gillingham in November 2005, Jepson was handed the opportunity to step from the assistant manager's role at Priestfield, to take on the manager's job full time.

That is something that the former Preston and Huddersfield striker would do, guiding the Gills to 14th in the League One table during the 2005/06 season.

The 2006/07 campaign would see Gillingham finish 16th in the third-tier under Jepson, who would then resign early in the following season, after a start to the campaign that saw the club lose five of their first six games, as Jepson left with a points per game average of 1.3.

Just less than two months after Jepson's departure from Priestfield, Gillingham would have their new permanent manager with the appointment of  Mark Stimson in November 2007.

Ultimately, Stimson would be unable to prevent Gillingham from suffering relegation from League One come the end of the 2007/08 season, but he would stay at the club even so, and guided them to an immediate promotion from League Two, via the play-offs in the 2008/09.

But with Gillingham failing to adapt to life back in League One, Stimson then left the club at the end of the 2009/10 season, with a points per game average of 1.3, after the club had suffered an instant relegation back to the fourth-tier of English football.

Having made over 200 league appearances for the club between 1987 and 1992, and had a brief stint in both a co-caretaker manager and assistant coach role at Priestfield, Lovell was already more than familiar with Gillingham when he was appointed as the club's permanent manager in late 2017.

That season would see Lovell guide the club to 17th in the League One table, something they then looked to be building on during the 2018/19 season.

But despite knocking then Premier League Cardiff out of the third round of the FA Cup, and guiding them to 13th in the table, Lovell was sacked by Gillingham in April, having averaged a total of 1.32 points per game during his time in the Priestfield dugout.

With Edinburgh having impressed with Newport in League Two, Gillingham moved to bring the former Tottenham left-back to Priestfield in February 2015, as they looked to avoid relegation from League One.

Edinburgh ensured they did that a strong end to the season that saw the Gills finish 12th, backing that up with a ninth place finish in 2015/16, but was sacked in January 2017 with the club 17th in League One, meaning he left the club with an average of 1.41 points per game.

After a brief spell with Northampton after leaving Gillingham, Edinburgh then guided Leyton Orient to promotion from the National League during the 2018/19, although he sadly passed away before the club made their on-pitch return to the Football League.

Following Steve Lovell's departure from Gillingham towards the end of the 2018/19 season, it was confirmed in the summer of 2019 that Steve Evans was to take over as manager at Priestfield.

A promising first season in charge in 2019/20 for Evans saw him guide the club to tenth in the League One table before the campaign was prematurely curtailed by global events.

Even so, Evans has been able to back that up in the current season, with the Gills currently one of a number of clubs in with a chance of reaching the League One play-offs, with Evans so far averaging 1.41 points per game during his time in charge of the club.

The final spot on this list goes to the second of those permanent spells as Gillingham for Andy Hessenthaler.

The former midfielder had retired from playing by the time he returned to the club in May 2010, following the Gills relegation from League One, with the club finishing eighth in League Two in each of Hessenthaler's two subsequent seasons in charge, once missing out on the play-offs on goal difference, and once by two points.

Hessenthaler would then leave his role as manager of the club again - although he later returned for a caretaker spell in charge - at the end of that second campaign, with a points per game average of 1.45, enough to earn him top spot here.