Gareth Ainsworth is hoping that his Gillingham side can continue their strong run of form as they travel to York City this Saturday, but acknowledges how difficult a challenge it will be.
York, who were promoted from the National League last season, have started the campaign well. However, having lost to Chesterfield last weekend, Ainsworth knows they will have an added incentive to win Saturday's fixture.
The Gills have faced many of the teams in the top half of the table to begin the campaign, and despite winning three on the bounce, the Gillingham manager knows that they need to continue building on their process behind the scenes. He also touched upon what will be a fantastic atmosphere at the weekend.
The 53-year-old provided an update on Liam Gordon and his recovery, and discussed Conor McManus' absence as he goes away with the Republic of Ireland Under-21 squad.
On Saturday's trip to York...
Every team is different, so you prepare differently for every team. We want to focus on what we do well. We have been doing a bit more emphasis on that this season, and I think that it has been working. The home form has been good. We wanted to get this place good and get this place rocking.
The away form has always been steady with me, no matter where I have been, and hopefully, steady means we will get something back from York. We want to win the game and to keep going, but it will be a tough challenge. They took a defeat last Saturday, so they will want to get back on the horse and start winning again. We want to continue winning, so something will give.
I am looking forward to seeing Scott [Lindsey]. I have good memories from York and it is cracking to have a northern team like that in the league. It's a big city, and they will be well supported.
The fixtures to start the season...
They don't get any easier, but what I will say is that we have played a lot of teams that are in the top half of the league at the moment. Your Tranmere, Bristol Rovers, Walsall, and Fleetwood's. We are playing a lot of these teams that are up there, and I think that the boys have delivered and stood up to the challenge, so I don't see why we can't do it again at York. At some stage there will be a defeat, without a shadow of a doubt. That's what happens in football.
We are going to keep the process going and the performances going. The fans have sold out, and the whole stadium has sold out, I have heard, which is going to be a fantastic atmosphere. I am really looking forward to this.
An update on Liam Gordon...
I don't want to put pressure on Liam, but we are probably looking at November-ish time when we can seriously be considering Liam. That is without any setbacks at all. That is something that we will have to have a look at. I don't want to put pressure on Liam. It was looking like Christmas, but it is now apparently before Christmas. It will be a bonus whenever he is back. There is no rush for Liam, and we are looking forward to when he comes back.
Conor McManus representing the Republic of Ireland Under 21s...
We have lost Conor McManus to the Republic of Ireland, but I feel that is a massively proud moment, and we should all be proud of somebody representing their country for Gillingham.
[On missing the win against Bristol Rovers] - The knock was enough to keep him out of last week's game, but probably not enough to keep him out of this week's game. Conor, what a cracking lad. He didn't want to let the boys down, and I said to him that if he plays and gets injured and is out for six weeks, then he is letting everyone down more than missing one game because of a precaution.
He was very honest about him not being 100%, and I need that from my boys. Hopefully, he goes and flies for Ireland. We will miss him when he is away, but he has put a marker down for where he is in the team as well.
