Gills Manager delighted with player fitness
Martin Allen says his players are in great shape as the new football league season draws ever nearer.
, but he believes the players at his disposal are capable of achieving more success in 2013/14.suffer a 2-1 defeat against IpswichThe squad contested their first pre-season friendly at MEMS Priestfield Stadium on Tuesday and were unlucky to
He said: “They are so fit it’s unbelievable, they are so strong and they are capable of doing great things. They are in great shape; all the testing results show it.
“They are well organised, they know what their jobs are, they all help each other and support each other on and off the field.
“Le Touquet was all of those things put in to one – we play to win, I did allow them to have a social night out after a round of paintballing. We just continue the same things; add a few new players and the new boys have been fantastic.”
and Martin revealed the dilemma he had in whether to sign Bayo or offer Deon Burton a new deal.second time a couple of weeks ago,One of the new players is Bayo Akinfenwa who joined the club for a
He added: “Let’s give a special mention to Deon Burton who did a fantastic job for us last season, but it was 50/50 so I took my time and in the end I had to make a decision. Bayo and Deon were available; we had to weigh up the financial implications of each contract.
“I chatted it through with Mr. Scally and my staff – I had a break so I had a clear mind and in the end I chose to go with Bayo and only time will tell if it’s right or wrong but that’s why I am the Manager.
“You put your neck on the line, you make decisions and some of them work and some of them don’t. You are either mad dog or top dog and that’s how my life is fortunately. I enjoy it; I didn’t lose any sleep over it.
“I spoke to Deon and explained it to him and we have to move on. Deon will do very well, Bayo will do very well and we also have the German. Birchall is as sharp as a razor; Weston has been fantastic in pre-season so we have lots of options with different players.”
Martin said he likes his players to have respect for the fans and the opposition, and said the relationship the squad has with the supporters is one to be proud of.
He added: “I am OCD, I like it to be clean and tidy and I like them to respect our club and supporters. I like them to respect each other, the opposition and the referee and conduct ourselves in the right way and we will try to win every game.
when we played Bradford.“The relationship between the players and the supporters has been galvanized. There has been something special between them since last year
“The supporters recognise the players are fit and that we all work hard, they recognise we are conscientious in how we go about our work and that we care. Our disciplinary record of our players is absolutely spot on.
“They know the players give everything for the shirt and go right until the end, through the tough times last season the players came back and broke the run we had when it looked a bit tricky.
“Our players appreciate what they do and they do know about how much it costs because I tell them all the time.
all the time and the players sign autographs and have pictures done.training ground“I just sit back and watch it all happen. Supporters come to the
“I make sure it all happens and at the end of the games we all clap each other. If we win or only draw we always do it, that will keep rolling on.”
here.To watch Martin’s post match press conference following the Ipswich game click
here.To read more from the Gills boss click