Fleetwood get in the festive spirit by dishing out free tickets to kids ahead of early Friday night Gills clash

Fleetwood Town players Conor McAleny, Chris Neal, Jordy Hiwula and head coach Uwe Rosler got in the festive spirit when they handed out gifts at Brian House Children's Hospice.

The Gills asked for the League One clash at Highbury to be moved forward from Saturday to an early Friday night slot.

And Town fans should be aware that the final home game of 2017 is scheduled to kick-off at 7pm rather than the usual 7:45pm billing.

The club have got in the festive spirit by handing out 1,300 free tickets to local school children and are also hosting their annual fans Christmas party in Jim's Bar after the game.

With the travelling Gills fans set to watch the game from the Parkside Stand the free tickets for the youngsters are in the normal away section, the Percy Ronson Stand.

The free tickets have been dished out to primary and secondary schools in Fleetwood, with children able to claim their free ticket vouchers from the club now.

And Fleetwood Town head coach Uwe Rosler hopes his men impress the potential new members of the Cod Army as they bid to end a run of one win in 11 league games and climb up from 15th in the League One table.

And Rosler says initiatives to get more youngsters to take an interest in the club are important.

He said: "It is nice, I think it is important to get as many people in our stadium and hopefully we can attract new fans by playing well and winning.

"That is our aim and hopefully we can get more fans inside our stadium.

"I'm looking forward to the game.

"When Gillingham requested to play Friday evening I felt it was good for us as well, I like to play under the floodlights.

"I think in general we play well under the floodlights and we have another day to recover (before Oldham away on Boxing Day) so why not."

Hopefully the Town fans will be in a celebratory mood at full-time as the club will be hosting their annual Christmas party for the Cod Army in Jim’s Bar after the game.

All supporters are welcome and they are encouraged to head over to the bar after the final whistle to celebrate the final home game of 2017 with a live German Oompah Band.

There will also be a DJ set and a rattle with German beer and Gluhwein (mulled wine) available for purchase on the night.

Entry is by donation with all money going to Prostate Cancer UK and the bar is also open during the day from 1pm onwards. For further information contact: 01253 775080.