Martin happy with progression of squad during pre-season as new campaign approaches
Martin Allen says he has been encouraged with the progression his side have shown in the last couple of weeks.
Crystal Palace game on Tuesday.The Gills have won three and lost three of their six pre-season games to date, and the Manager was delighted with the battling qualities his players gave during the second half of the
He said: “We were 1-1 against Ipswich until the last minute and we played very well, I made a lot of changes to rest some of those players and it’s been addressed that we weren’t there on Saturday [against Millwall] as a group, it wasn’t quite right.
“On Tuesday we saw maximum effort, courage and commitment. We played some good football and in the second half we popped it around well.
“We made them move and chase the ball, our full backs got forward and got some crosses in and was delighted with them.
“Overall it has been a good couple of weeks.”
With the season beginning next Saturday, Martin is committed to developing all the players within the various squads and has organised an extra game for Friday against the New York Cosmos to increase fitness levels.
He added: “We are always looking to improve, they have done a huge amount of running and that’s all in the bank now ready for those first three games.
“We have arranged another game for Friday so that some other players can get to play 90 minutes and for the development squad to play, and that is behind closed doors.
“We have another 11 to go to Woking on Saturday, so we have a game against Sudbury on Thursday too so from the youth all the way to senior level we have three games to get everyone ready for it.
“The youth team need to step up aswell so everyone will be buzzing, we then have one more game away next Tuesday at Maidenhead and then it’s all systems go.”
and Crystal Palace due to a hamstring problem.Millwall, IpswichFinally Martin was asked about the injury to Myles Weston who has missed the games against
The Manager said the winger could be a doubt for the opening league fixture against Colchester.
“Myles was nearly ready for Saturday, he trained Friday but he got tight so we pulled him back and I won’t risk him until maybe next Tuesday. He said:
“We will see how he is Monday with a view to playing half an hour against Maidenhead. I want him fit for the first three games because he wins matches, he has been in fantastic form at the training ground – he was electric in France.
“There isn’t a strain and there is no tear, it’s just tight and he’s 50/50.
“We’ll have to be a bit more careful to make sure he is right.
“As soon as there are any knocks at this time of year we get them off.”
here.To watch Martin’s press conference following Tuesday’s game against Palace, click
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