Gareth Ainsworth was pleased with the reaction he got from his side following their hard-fought goalless draw at Fleetwood Town on Saturday.
The Gills showed they were up to the test and battled throughout to ensure they got the point they more than deserved. Ainsworth was delighted with the defensive resolve he got from his side, especially the three central defenders, who stood firm throughout to limit Fleetwood to very little in open play.
There was plenty of youth in the Gillingham squad on Saturday, with Logan Dobbs making his full league debut. The Gills boss was delighted for the 19-year-old, who played a vital role in ensuring a clean sheet. Ainsworth also discussed the young options on the bench, as Conor McManus and Sheldon Kendall made their league debuts. Academy graduate Harry Waldock made a positive impact when he was introduced. He was also glad to have Cameron Antwi back out on the pitch following his lengthy layoff due to injury.
There were 336 Gillingham supporters at Highbury Stadium, and Ainsworth thanked them for their incredible support, crediting the fans for the important role that they played in pushing the team on until the final whistle.
With transfer deadline day fast approaching, the 53-year-old discussed the difficulties of navigating the transfer window as you enter the closing stages, with business still to be done.
Getting reaction from his players and defensive resiliency...
I have got a boy in there that has made his full league debut [Logan Dobbs]. Andy Smith, the reaction from last week, I thought was sensational, and Omar [Beckles], again, was steady and the captain in there. Without Liam [Gordon] in there and obviously Sam [Gale], who has gone on to Barnsley. We are just a bit short, so having those three turn up like that, I thought, was sensational.
They really defended their box against Ched Evans and Will Davies, who are two real good strikers around this level. They will go and score goals.
Fleetwood will turn teams over here, without a shadow of a doubt. They are strong, direct and a big team. We held out and almost won it. We are going to be a counter-attacking team. We didn't get on the ball as much as I wanted today. We didn't get the quality on the ball... I had reactions today off the players that I wanted reactions off.
On Kadeem Harris' injury...
My main emotion right now is my concern for Kadeem Harris, who came off with a nasty injury on about 70 minutes.
I am thinking positively and thinking that it will only be a little one. He's had some sort of tweak with his foot stuck in the grass, so we will see how it is.
A positive day for the Football Club's younger players...
When you look at your bench, and you're going, right, Cameron Antwi, first minutes for six months. Harry Waldock, youth academy. Conor McManus, a new signing; Sheldon [Kendall], coming from a youth academy. This is great, and Harry Webster and Sully Booth left on the bench, and Taite Holtam, all our own players. I think that there aren't many teams in the Football League this weekend that will have had what we had academy wise on the bench, and on the pitch.
Logan's learning. There were a couple of misjudged flights, which he is going to do as a young boy because that happens. He is playing against Ched Evans, who started at Man City and has played Championship football and is a top striker. As well as Will Davies, who will run and bustle, nudge you and everything. To say that is his full league debut, I think that we have got to give Logan a lot of credit there.
He has made some vital interceptions at the front of the goal there, and he never stopped his running, so his fitness levels were high. He will have learnt plenty from today. I think he will sleep well tonight! I am proud of Logan.
His message to the 336 Gillingham supporters in attendance...
Thank you so much because you are getting right behind me. It was a real club performance that today, and I am really proud that the fans came up, get behind us like they do, shout the boys on and get them home. You really played your part in that today.
Thank you, fans. You were great.
Approaching the end of the transfer window...
I think that it is going to be busy. I don't think that I am going to get much sleep this week. After the Chesterfield game, I think that there is still three hours left of the window, so let's see where we go. It's tough because everyone wants the best players. It's money, it's agents, it's timing, and it's clubs. Everything comes into it. I know that behind the scenes the boys are working really hard. I have said yes on a few options, so let's go for these, but the next step is now getting them in. That's hard sometimes. It really is.
The recruitment team has been great.
We have to make sure that we spread our net quite wide and that there is a few options, which there is. We will get one or two in, I am sure.
