Gillingham manager Gareth Ainsworth was glad that his squad were able to get more minutes in the tank during Saturday's game at home to Luton Town in a pre-season friendly at MEMS Priestfield Stadium.
Ainsworth was pleased with the response he saw from his side during the second half after a Jordan Clark brace gave the visitors a two-goal first half lead.
The Gills boss also provided an injury update on the squad, gave an insight into Sam Vokes' recovery from his broken arm and looked ahead to the final week of the pre-season as things begin to ramp up towards the 2025/26 season.
On the game...
It was a very strong team against us today, and I think that they are going to be right up there at the top of League One. They have got a serious squad and some really good players. I think that's great because it shows us the level that we want to get to and where we have to be.
I thought that in the second half, we were so much better. We pressed higher and we went higher as a whole team. In the first half, we gave a bit of respect to them. The goals we could have avoided, at least one of them. They never really carved us apart, which was good to see, but they had plenty of the ball, and you are going to expect that when you are playing a team that has just come out of the Championship.
It was a good run out for the boys. We had the penalty miss, and Clarky [Max Clark] will be gutted at that, but I am sure in the league we will stick those in. We had some chances in that second half, and with a bit of quality and clever play around the box, I think we will get in and score goals.
On returning players and an update on those still out...
We had Elliott Nevitt and Nelson Khumbeni both coming back in today, so it was brilliant to see those two making the pitch. We want to get Sam Vokes and Aaron Rowe back and get them out playing. Euan Williams is a bit further away with the shoulder injury.
I have got some depth in the squad. You're putting on Logan Dobbs for his first match, as he has been injured for a bit of pre-season. Sam Gale is going to be back very soon, so that will be good.
On Sam Vokes' recovery...
He had a plate put into his arm and it was a nasty break and he had some nerve damage. We always knew that from the start that Sam Vokes would not be available for that first game because he had that broken arm and they take a while. He can't do contact yet, so he is getting to the contact stage towards the end of pre-season. Then it is getting back into match fitness again and he is going to have a bit of a build-up then before we start playing him.
Looking at the final week of pre-season...
We have got two games coming up now, and we will rotate for those and make sure that most players have got 90 minutes under their belt come Accrington. That is the important one, going up there, putting a plan in place and making sure that we can be competitive in this league.
