Gills defender happy with positive start...
Joe Martin says the squad are full of confidence at the minute and are going into each game believing they can win.
The Gills left back has featured in every league game so far this season and scored the winner against Wycombe last month to earn a 1-0 win at Adams Park.
Joe said the team is looking good at the minute, but is aware that there is a long way to go.
Speaking in his midweek press conference he said:
“We have started off very well, there has only been eight games so there is a long way to go but we are feeling confident at the minute.
“I don’t think we expect to win but we go into the games feeling that we are not going to concede, and even if we do we think we can score more than the other team.
“To put it simply that’s how we feel – everything is going for us at the minute and we can’t ask for more.
“We are looking organised at the back but it’s not just about the back four. We have Wright [David Wright] or Payney [Jack Payne] in the hole in front of us and we have a couple of players for every position at the minute.”
Despite the fact he has featured in every league game so far Martin is by no means assuming he has a first team place every weekend, and will continue to work hard to ensure the place remains his.
He said: “Even in pre-season I was trying to make that place my own – you have Jacko [Danny Jackman] and Frammo [Andy Frampton] that can all play there so we were fighting for that place and I am still looking to establish myself in that position.
“I am not guaranteed to be playing every week; I need to keep on my toes like everyone in the team.
“In the first place we had a decent squad and with the players the manager is bringing in it’s not a League Two squad at all. Robbie is fast, Wrighty has experience so there is a good mix of young and experienced players and that’s positive.”
Joe was asked what in particular has changed to gain the results the team are currently getting.
He said:
“I don’t think it’s just one thing – he’s done a lot of things. We are fit, we are organised and he has brought the right players in who can do what he wants them to do.
“We always have an itinerary so we know what kind of things we are doing - It’s not as if we are doing outrageous things, you just know you have to be sharp in training and everyone is on their toes and it’s paying off.”
Finally Joe spoke about what sort of challenge Rochdale will pose on Saturday and says the Gills may need to be patient in order to get a result.
He said: “That could be a problem when people might write off this game if they don’t think they can get anything – they might sit in and try to frustrate us but we need to be good enough to deal with that and at the moment I think we are.
“They came down last season and they have 12 points, we are flying at the moment so we’ll go into the game confident and looking for another win.”