Gills Manager convinced his team are progressing well after recent displays
Peter Taylor says he is convinced his team are moving in the right direction after three successive strong performances.A 2-2 draw against Peterborough was followed up with a 2-1 away win at Tranmere last Friday night, before a late goal from Leyton Orient on Boxing Day deprived Gills of a deserved point in a 2-1 scoreline.
The team currently sit 15th in the Sky Bet League One table, and Taylor is pleased with the way the players are playing.
He said: “The spirit is excellent, the players have been first class and taking on board exactly what we are trying to do and I think as a team we are getting better.
“We were playing against Leyton Orient who are top of the table, have had a marvellous season and have been together a while and we have given them a really good game.
“We deserved a draw on the strength of the chances we created, but I know they are a good team and I respect that.”
Bayo Akinfenwa scored his third goal in just two outings, and although he was subbed on the hour mark, the Manager is delighted with the contribution he has made since returning to the team.
He added: “There is a bit of tiredness when you run around against a good team and you have to work exceptionally hard. I did feel one or two looked tired so that’s another area we need to learn from.
“It’s probably the lack of games, I don’t know exactly the history of Bayo but people have been telling me that sometimes after an hour he does get tired.
“To be fair to him I’m accepting him getting tired because he’s working exceptionally hard. He has worked hard in getting hold of the ball and closing down.
“It’s a hard match and the boys have had a lot of matches and suddenly you’re playing against a team that keep the ball well.
"Those are some of the negatives but there were a lot more positives, some of the Football we played at times was good and we had some good chances to get two or three.”
Bayo has taken his opportunity with both hands since Danny Kedwell picked up a hernia injury, and Taylor explained why the number nine was named on the team sheet having claimed earlier in the week he would be missing for a few weeks.
He said: “He was due to have an operation on Monday and it was cancelled, it wasn’t Danny’s fault. The hospital are blaming the surgeons and the surgeons are blaming the hospital so we can’t really get to the bottom of it.
“He is now available; it will now probably be the 2nd of January [the operation] so as long as he doesn’t play 90 minutes he could be available to be sub to come on for 10 or 15 minutes.
“Nobody was trying to be clever in saying he’s going to be out and have an operation, that’s exactly what happened.
“They will open him up and I think they end up doing both sides so it could be between two to four weeks. It’s just very uncomfortable; he played against Peterborough and then couldn’t do anything until the Thursday.”
Akinfenwa departed to be replaced by Antonio German against the league leaders, and Taylor believes there is a lot of potential in the young striker which has yet to be seen.
He added: “He’s got lots of potential but I’d like to see the potential turn to end product, he has all of the tools to be a good player and every now and again we see it.”