Nick Freeman knows that the real business starts now, as Gillingham concluded their pre-season schedule with a 2-1 win at Ebbsfleet United on Friday night.
Despite falling a goal behind against their National League South opposition, Gillingham battled back to win the game thanks to goals from Damien Theodore and Nelson Khumbeni. Freeman credited Ebbsfleet for the tough task that they posed, and was pleased that the players managed to get important minutes as they build their fitness ahead of their season opener.
Luton Town visit ME7 next Saturday in the Carabao Cup First Round, and the 30-year-old is expecting a difficult test against strong opposition. However, Freeman is excited for the return of competitive football, with the fixture providing the team another opportunity to build towards the start of the League Two campaign.
On getting through the final game of pre-season ahead of the new season...
It's the last kind of day of pre-season, with 90 minutes against a really good side, to be fair to them. They tested us a lot, and they gave it all to the end, and we just managed to win, which is great. We got 90 minutes in the legs, ready for the first competitive game next week, and we're feeling good. That was a good run out.
Every pre-season game is about minutes and coming through injury-free, and just tweaking little bits and working on little bits that are going to go on during the season. That lead-up to the first game is putting everything into practice now. It matters. Obviously, it's a cup game in the first game, but there are three points on the line now in the games coming up. We are going to see a lot more fans, and we are going to be in that kind of pressure environment that we live for.
Settling into the group...
Since I have joined, there have been one or two new signings, and they have fit in straight away. They look really confident around the place, and the fresh faces are really good. Like I said, it is a really good group. Everyone is really positive, and everyone gets on with each other, and it's a really nice feel good factor environment and the culture at the club, which is really enjoyable to be a part of.
Switching the focus to the first competitive game against Luton Town...
It's slightly different, but it's a competitive game that we want to win. We want to get to the next round. I guess it's another game to get us ready for the start of the League Two season against Walsall, but like I said, it's a competitive game against a really good opposition that will test us, so it will be good to see how we get on and how we feature against them. We're excited regardless, because the competitive games are starting and pre-season is done now.
Today is a bit of a celebration because it has been a really tough pre-season, but you can see with the lads, with how fit and strong we are. There is constant working hard and togetherness, and you can see that with the 90 minutes in the legs tonight and how strong and fit we are. We are in a really good place, which I am excited about.
