Gareth Ainsworth is expecting another difficult afternoon as in-form Fleetwood Town head to the MEMS Priestfield Stadium on Saturday.
The Gills boss is hoping that his side can get back to winning ways at home, following the defeat to Oldham a fortnight ago.
The Fleetwood fixture kick-starts a busy March, where the Gills will play four times in ME7. Ainsworth wants Saturday to set the tone for the month, and hopes that his side can make life difficult for the visiting opposition, expecting each player to empty the tank in doing so.
Ainsworth provided injury updates on Garath McCleary, Nelson Khumbeni and Conor Masterson, and discussed the recent appointment of Scott Wagstaff as the Football Club’s Under 18’s coach.
On Saturday's game against Fleetwood...
It will be a tough game. I watched them on Tuesday, so I know that it was a good result for them. They took a bit of pressure from Walsall, but saw out the game for a 1-0 win. They have been on some good form lately, and it is something that we have got to be aware of. We want to get back to winning ways at home, and that is another thing, but it is nothing other than a tough test in League Two again.
We have got to be at it because the games are coming thick and fast after this one, and we are going to be using everyone to make sure that we share the load, but we are quality when we do it. We play with quality, and we play with belief, and we play with an attitude that we want to win the game, especially at home. That's big for me.
Team News...
Obviously, we are missing Garath [McCleary], who is brilliantly back on the grass. Nelson [Khumbeni] still needs the all clear, so Nelson won't feature. He is the only one, and Conor [Masterson] are guaranteed to not feature. I think that everyone else is pretty good to be in contention.
[On Josh Andrews missing the Barrow win]- He took a dead leg against the goalkeeper against Oldham. There was a big challenge at the end of the game when a cross went up into the air, and he got a dead leg, but it is better to be on the cautious side with Josh rather than rushing him back. He has been training all week, so Josh is back into the fold now.
Making the four home games in March count...
There are some big games coming up here at home, and we have got to make sure that we are the Gillingham that I used to remember, where you come to Priestfield, and it is a really tough game. Too often it has been too easy to turn this team over at home, and I have seen it once in my 40-odd games now, and I think that we have got to put that to bed and go, 'Right, we aren't easy to beat at home. We are a team and a set of fans that won't make it easy for you, no matter who you are.'
As long as they all empty the tank, that is all that I ask, because the strategy which we put in place and the players that I put onto the pitch, I know, are good enough. Just give everything, and I am sure that the fans will cheer you home.
The appointment of Scott Wagstaff as the Under-18 coach…
He seems a really good fella, and I have heard really good things about him and his coaching. He has connections with the club, which is great. The first session that we were both on the grass was today, simultaneously. I did cast my eye over the youth team a little bit, but that is his domain.
The academy here has produced some good players over the last couple of years, with Sam Gale and Joe Gbode. We have got a couple stepping up, and we have got some young first-year pros out on loan. Harry Waldock, [Harry] Webster, [Logan] Dobbs, [Damien] Theodore, and [Harry] Bridle are all out on loan. There is definitely a production line, which is good. It’s whether we can get them into that first-team and make them good enough. That’s the job that Scott wants to do.
He wants to come on and bring those players on, and he has a wealth of experience of playing, so he knows what it takes for those boys to play in the first-team.
Scott is a great guy. We have had some good chats, and he is bang in to the meetings in the morning with us all. The first-team needs the academy players. They sometimes step up for the sessions. Scott needs to know exactly what I want in my players when they come, and they’re ready for that first-team.