Gaffer | "It is a tough place to go"

boss

Gareth Ainsworth has called upon his players to do what they do best as Gillingham travel to Rotherham United on Saturday.

The Gills boss knows that 'The Millers' will prove a stern test, identifying their attacking options as something that they need to be well aware of. 

Ainsworth provided injury updates on Garath McCleary, Eli King, Will Goodwin and Liam Gordon ahead of Saturday's trip to the New York Stadium.

Left wing-back Conor McManus scored for the Republic of Ireland under-21s in their win on Tuesday night against England. Ainsworth was delighted for him and looks forward to having McManus back in the camp, where he will be assessed ahead of the weekend.
 

On the trip to Rotherham...

Rotherham away obviously speaks for itself. They are a Championship pedigree team that were in League One last year, and it is a tough place to go. Alex Bruce has had to wait patiently before he got his squad together. I think that they only had eight players at the start of pre-season, so they have really recruited well. They have the likes of [Paul] Mullin, [Tom] Bradshaw and [Klaidi] Lolos. They have got some real good forward players, as well as being solid at the back. 

I have to make sure that we get up there and we do what we do best, and the lads will prepare well. We will get up there and do it right. 

It is a big pitch, a big stadium and a big history. Rotherham are one of the toughest teams around, with a good pedigree of Championship and lower-league football, and being competitive. They have got some really good players. 

 

Injury updates...

We have one or two that are still just a little bit away. Although there were some provisional dates about when Liam Gordon is going to get back to training and things like that.

Garath [McCleary] went off on Saturday, but he was a doubt to do 90 anyway. He is feeling a bit better. There are one or two knocks that have been picked up in the games... We are looking strong, but not as strong as we could be. I'd love it when all these big names are back because they are a real threat. I am happy with where we are and what I will be taking to Rotherham.

[On Eli King] - The knee that he had the operation on, he has tweaked something in there where he had the operation. He is not going to be available for the next few weeks. Whether that needs more investigation, we will see. 

[On Will Goodwin] - It's another short-term one, but it is short-term enough to be disruptive. You can't keep missing every couple of weeks and then coming back and then missing a few more. We have to make sure that when Will's back, he is back and is solid.
 

On Conor McManus scoring for the Republic of Ireland under-21s against England...

I was actually shown it by a fan last night [at Chatham on Tuesday], who came up and showed me... I was well proud. He is doing really well, Conor. 

He came off on 68 minutes, so we will have to have a look at that and why that happened, but we are really proud of him. It is bittersweet because he scored against England, but he is my player! He is a great lad, and it will be good to have him back and his energy around the place. Hopefully, he has not picked up anything serious, or he was just rested. He seemed to be enjoying himself scoring against England! 

 

On the continued superb away support...

Honestly, from Harrogate away in my first ever game, I have known that this club goes away as good as any club in the Football League. I am counting the Premier League and everyone in that. I really do mean that. I have never known a set of fans, and I have played for some decent clubs who have had really good away following. QPR and Cardiff City had some really good away following fans, but Gillingham are right up there alongside those people.

It's brilliant. It really is. They are so passionate and helpful. Keep getting behind us, and hopefully, we will keep delivering. 

 

Gareth’s exclusive with Gills TV can be seen here.