Gareth Ainsworth is looking forward to seeing another superb away following as Gillingham travel to The Hive to take on play-off chasing Barnet at the weekend.
Barnet host the Gills, knowing that they need to win to keep their promotion hopes alive, and Ainsworth was complimentary of Saturday's opposition. He credited Barnet for the fine run of form they have been on, acknowledging the strengths they carry within their squad.
Ainsworth is hopeful that Andy Smith could be involved in some capacity, having broken his nose against Cheltenham Town. Regardless of what defensive options he selects on Saturday, he expects to see a much more solid performance.
The 52-year-old also discussed Sam Vokes making his 750th professional appearance and player recruitment following the appointment of Richard Dobson as Technical Director.
On Saturday's game...
They are flying high. They have been one of the surprise teams in the league, I would have to say. Bromley have probably shocked everyone, and fair play to them, and congratulations on their promotion.
It is going to be a tough game [at Barnet], but we are going to travel well. It is our last away game and I know that they are all going to wear crazy shirts, so that will be interesting!
They will be there in numbers, and it will be great. It will be fantastic, but there is a job to do on a team that are flying high in the league. They have turned over MK Dons, and they have turned over some big teams. They have been on a real good run.
Defensive team news...
Shadrach [Ogie] is not going to be back for that one, but Andy Smith will hopefully be back in contention. A couple of others have picked up a couple of knocks, so we just have to be careful on what we do. We know what season we have had with some tough things happening. We will be solid, and there will be a strong defence going out there. Hopefully, we can keep a shut out and go and score some goals at the other end. That has been lacking lately, a lot, and I want that.
On Sam Vokes making his 750th career appearance...
Sam Vokes is one of the best professionals that I have ever worked with, and it is unsurprising given the level he has played. The regard that he has from many fans, opposition fans, and in football itself, he has been an absolute pleasure to work with. To be a part of that 750, which is a hell of an achievement by the way, I was about 620, and I thought that I did well. He is a fantastic professional, and he has been great to work with over the years.
There is nothing that I could ever say that would be negative about Sam Vokes.
On player recruitment following Richard Dobson's appointment as Technical Director...
The main thing is that he has worked with me for so long that we have both signed players over the years, we have both come up with names and both sort of agreed with each other, so he is going to know exactly my type of player. Hopefully, we will get a few more names out and a few more interesting options that we can bring in.
This was a big part of it, with him in the recruitment as well as a lot of other long-term planning at the club. I think that it is a great role for him, and I think that he is the perfect person. We have missed him on the training pitch, but it is time for us to step up and move forward on there now.
