Gareth Ainsworth is looking forward to facing one of his former clubs on Saturday in Shrewsbury Town.
The Gills boss has been impressed with the work that his team has done in training throughout the week, and is hopeful that it could lead to all three points in Shropshire.
Ainsworth provided team news, giving updates on the fitness of Elliott Nevitt and Glenn Morris in the process. He also spoke about how he aims to take the pressure off his players, even if that means he is on the receiving end of some backlash himself.
Looking ahead to Saturday, and returning to Shrewsbury...
It will be good to get back there. It will be nice to see some people again, obviously, I am expecting to be the pantomime villain, as football throws up a lot, but that is football. It was a good club, and I enjoyed my time there. It's unfortunate that things went the way that they did, and I ended up coming here, but I am loving Gillingham now, and everyone at Shrewsbury will know that I give 100% for any badge that is on my chest, and Gillingham is on there now.
But we are going for the points. We want to win the game, and we want to get back to winning ways. With Crawley we could have taken something more, but with Barnet, we were just off it a little bit, and I haven't seen that for a while. We have definitely been on it this week. The boys have responded really well to a good week's training, and we are looking forward to going up the road. We travel early [Friday], and I am looking forward to going back to Croud Meadow and seeing everyone, but also, hopefully, we can get the points.
Team news...
It is still the state of play with those two (regarding Conor Masterson and Euan Williams), and I think that everyone else is in and around it, so that's great. It has been tough, as we have missed a few players. You have said some names there that would walk into most teams, and not having them hurts, with Armani's [Little] suspension as well. It's tough sometimes without your mainstay players, but it gives chances and opportunities to other people, and I am looking forward to seeing what they can give me.
Elliott [Nevitt] is back now. He had a knock against Bristol Rovers, which was the last time we saw him. He had run himself into the ground that day, but Nev is back in the squad, which is great for me.
Glenn [Morris] is close. He was out on the grass today doing handling, so he's not belting balls yet. Again, as I said last week, I am really happy with Turns [Jake Turner] at the moment, and he is fighting a good case for keeping that shirt.
Taking the pressure off his players...
I will stand up and stick up for any one of my players. I did it while I was at Shrewsbury, QPR, and Wycombe, and I will certainly do it at Gillingham. I will stand up and stick up for every one of these players. If that means that I take the stick and I get it, then great, you can get on with your job, boys. That's football. People may be distracted doing other things, but my boys, I want them focused on that game and on the pitch. I will certainly be focused, and you expect it. Hopefully, we have enough in the squad to win the game.
