Good evening ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys, and welcome back to Priestfield for tonight's rearranged fixture against Rotherham United, which was due to be originally played on January 7 but was of course postponed due to us being in the FA Cup at that time.

On behalf of everyone connected to GFC, I'd like to welcome the officials, supporters and staff from Rotherham who, under the leadership of Andy Scott, will be looking to further their own push for a play-off place and come to us having been on a decent run achieving seven out of a possible nine points over their last three games, which included a win at Southend last Friday week.

It will therefore be important that we are focused and ready for the challenge tonight if we are to achieve the result we all want, and get our own play off aspirations back on track.

It would be somewhat foolish for me to suggest we are not all hugely disappointed by our recent run of form, exacerbated by our first half showing in front of the cameras on our last home run out against Southend, but I was hugely encouraged by the actions taken by Andy on our trip to Port Vale last Saturday, when the much changed team put in a fantastic performance,led the game until the 81st minute,missed some great chances to wrap the game up, but were then brutally undone by a killer equaliser and a penalty in the final minute of the game, with us leaving Staffordshire with nothing in terms of reward, but with immense pride, heads held high and many positives taken from a fine all-round footballing show.

Football is often a cruel game but the facts are laid bare in that with two thirds of the season almost passed we have stumbled due to the number of goals conceded, costing us games where, given the goals scored, we would normally have expected to finish with maximum points in the bag.

This defensive problem had to be rectified, it's fair to say those that have played in the past six games have been given every opportunity to resolve the problem, but after Southend it was obvious that drastic action was required and hence the youngsters were called upon to step up to the mantle.

In many ways it would be wrong to highlight individuals after Port Vale, because I thought everyone to a man put in a tremendous shift, a real team performance and I, for one, am immensely proud of the team as a whole, and the manner in which they addressed the problem given the pressure they were under, but I'd like to congratulate Connor Essam and Jack Evans for firstly making their full league debuts, but secondly for taking up the difficult challenge with such style and spirit, playing without fear and looking comfortable, unfazed and confident against their more experienced opposition.

It was also clear from last Saturday, that the team were very united, happy to play decent football, were organised and mentally strong, and hopefully they will have come out of the performance with some much needed confidence, and will take that into tonight's contest accordingly.

It was also great to see Simon King play a full 90 minutes after a long period of injury problems, clearly he has lost none of his class, and great also to see Chris Whelpdale on the scoresheet, back from injury and playing with some style.

For the cynics in football, our recent run has sparked some unfortunate rhetoric, much of course predictably aimed at the manager, but it is essential to remain focused on the job in hand, to stay together as a group of people, to put past problems behind us and to look forward to what can still be achieved this season if we all work hard and stay disciplined.

In the world of football, things never go totally the way we all want, not all the time in any event, and we have to deal with situations as and when they occur in a calm and thought through way. We only have to look at the fortunes of our Premier League colleagues, where big money determines most situations, where a couple of defeats spark panic, where one mistake can determine an individual's future, where a home FA Cup draw instead of a win against a lower league side can lead to an inquest, to realise the problem rests with all clubs from time to time, and it is the clubs that stand tall, and accept the problems but seek solutions that shall succeed ultimately.

In our own case, the manager has made brave changes, and will make more if necessary, we have more than a third of the season to play after tonight, we are only six points off the play-offs with a game in hand on the teams above, have 51 points to play for and have to play eight of the teams currently above us, with five of those games being at Priestfield.

In addition we have currently a better home goals record in terms of scored over conceded than Southend, and they top the league. Our target must be to achieve more clean sheets, we have only managed six league clean sheets all season, because by so doing we will clearly have a greater chance of picking up more points, (without stating the obvious) if we do.

We now start a period of 19 days where we play five home games and one away, a tough schedule but one that gives us an absolute opportunity to put our season back on track. That will only happen if we all play our part, and that means everyone with an interest and care for the club, that we all work hard and stay focused on what we ultimately wish to achieve.

If we fail, it will be because we have all failed in one way or another, but given the good feeling about where we want to go, and the new spirit within the team, I don't believe failure to be an option.

Tonight will be the first of many challenges ahead, we are more than capable of achieving the success we hope for, so get behind the boys tonight and give them all your positive energy.

Enjoy the game and thanks for your support.

Up The Gills

Paul D P Scally