Gareth Ainsworth was ecstatic with his side's performance, as three second-half goals secured Gillingham a first victory at Harrogate Town on Saturday afternoon.
Ainsworth reiterated the fact that his side were fully deserving of all three points in their 3-0 victory, and was delighted that everybody associated with the Football Club could enjoy the win together.
The Gills boss praised the mentality of his squad, who dug in deep to ensure that they left North Yorkshire with a clean sheet as well as all three points.
Unfortunately, Jonny Smith suffered a knock during the first half, which forced the Wigan loanee to come off due to injury. Ainsworth provided an update on him and discussed the reason for Ethan Coleman's absence from the matchday squad.
The 52-year-old showed his appreciation to the 472 travelling supporters, who backed the team throughout, and he also looked ahead to the midweek fixture at Cheltenham Town.
On the game…
It was fully deserved. I really thought that we were well worth the victory. The players, the fans and my staff; everyone had really worked hard for this today.
I can’t thank the boys enough. They were emphatic with the way that they went forward and finished. In recent weeks, we have been guilty of spurning a few chances, but that was brilliant.
I don’t want to pick anyone out today, because that was a team performance throughout. We came up with a long journey yesterday, and we knew what was coming. However, Harrogate changed four or five players to their starting line-up because they have been on a bad run, so they sprung a little bit of a formation change on us, but the boys dealt with it. They really did.
The mentality of the group…
There’s a pride in these boys, and there’s a pride that I believe is coming at the right time. They were saying, ‘Don’t concede, don’t concede.’ We scored one, and we actually said, ‘Don’t sit back and protect this lead. Let’s go and get some more goals.’ They certainly did that. I am really pleased with them.
Having everyone back is a real bonus, and hopefully, there will be more days like today.
Updates on Jonny Smith and Ethan Coleman…
I have no idea [full extent of injuries], but someone like Jonny has struggled for games this season, and he’s not going to come off just for a little knock. The boy was almost in tears coming off, and I understand that. I have been there.
It has been a really tough loan for Jonny Smith. He is a part of the squad, and he is a part of my boys. I will back him the whole way. Unfortunately, it looks like he might have a couple of weeks on the sideline again.
[On Ethan Coleman]- He got a whack yesterday. We had to train on astroturf yesterday because the ground was underwater. Obviously, everyone will have seen the rain that has been coming down lately in the south-east, and he took a knock, which is a minor knock, but it’s still a knock big enough to keep him out of the game.
We got Euan Williams to catch a train last night and said to get up here. There was no way that he was driving after the tunnel [Dartford issue], as I mentioned. He got the train up, and I’m glad that he did, as he played a part in the end there.
Appreciation to the supporters…
To all the travelling fans, thank you so much. It’s a cold day, the Dartford tunnel was even messier than it usually is, I have heard. It has been steady, but they cheer us off the bus, and they cheer us onto the pitch. They never stop singing, and they never stop getting behind us. That makes a huge difference, believe me.
Never stop supporting this club as you do, because it’s your club, and I am proud to be the manager of your club, and I am really proud to get a 3-0 away win today.
Cheltenham on Tuesday...
Steve Cotterill’s a good manager, who has got more games than me under his belt, and I have one of the most in the division. He’s a real experienced campaigner, who knows how to get results and knows how to dig in.
I think that we saw that when Cheltenham came to Priestfield. I watched that one on TV back home, but I will be hoping that we can turn that result around and get three wins on the spin. That would be phenomenal for us on what we’re trying to achieve this season.
