BURNLEY stalwart Mick Docherty will always have all things Claret close to his heart.

So it's no wonder he's willing to give former Turf Moor colleague Ronnie Jepson a big leg-up on the management ladder.

Docherty's links to Burnley have been forged over an association stretching back almost 40 years, when he came to prominence as captain of the FA Youth Cup winning team of 1968.

After he finished playing, he returned as Frank Casper's assistant before taking up a similar role under Stan Ternent at Hull City.

He came back to Turf Moor again with Ternent for a third spell and it led to him working with Jepson, who this week took him on as a consultant at Gillingham.

So when it comes to helping Jepson find his feet in the a managerial world with Gillingham, Docherty likes to think he will play a significant part in his development.

After all, he knows more than most about what the game is all about given his dad Tommy's spells in the hot seat at more than 10 clubs.

"My association with Ronnie brought me to Gillingham after working together at Burnley," said Docherty. "He was a player there when I was coaching and then he came onto the coaching staff himself when he retired.

"I tried to teach him the ropes basically and he seems to have done quite well.

"I showed him how things worked and obviously he's got his own ideas on certain aspects of the game.

"I'd like to think that he picked up a few ideas off me but he's very much his own man and our association has brought us together again."

When Ternent's reign at Burnley ended in May 2004, it also spelt the end for Docherty and he's not been involved in football since.

So given the cut-throat nature of the profession, the 55-year-old is just pleased to be back in any capacity.

He added: "I left Burnley 18 months ago and I've not been in the game since.

"It's so much harder to get back in these days and a lot of it is, like this situation, about not what you know but who you know.

"Having known Ronnie, with a mutual respect for one another, that's brought us together.

"I've only got a rough outline of what's going on at the club and that's for the manager and the chairman to sort out and which road or route to take to rectify it.

"I'm just here to help out as best I can.

"I do have a lot of experience as player, coach and a manager but the great thing with Ronnie and myself is I respect his judgement, I like how he goes about things."