Gills hope Jackson will stay put

Jackson was born in Jamaica but plays for his adoptive country Canada

Gillingham manager Mark Stimson has said he hopes the club can ward off any interest in top scorer Simeon Jackson until the end of the season.

Stimson thinks Jackson, 21, has added to his estimated value of �1m after his goal against Aston Villa in front of the television cameras on Sunday.

He told BBC Radio Kent: "He's a good player with a great attitude.

"He will one day play at a higher division than League Two but hopefully not in the next three to six months."

If he ends up with 24 goals then in the summer someone will definitely gamble

Gillingham boss Mark Stimson

The diminutive forward equalised for Gillingham against Villa when he brilliantly turned defender Zat Knight and unleashed an unstoppable shot past Brad Friedel for his 12th goal of the season, before Villa's late winner.

Stimson said: "I think teams will look to the summer, they'll see he's done fantastically well in the first half of the season for his first time in the league.

"But they'll see how he develops the second half.

"If he does the same and ends up with 24 goals then in the summer someone will definitely gamble."

The Jamaican-born Canada Under-20 international joined Gillingham from Rushden & Diamonds 12 months ago.