Sam Gale stressed the importance of Gillingham finishing their season strong as the squad prepare to visit Crawley Town on Saturday afternoon.
The defender conceded that results and performances have not been good enough, but is hoping that they can string a run of results together to lift the spirits of everybody around the Football Club.
Gills travel to the Broadfield Stadium to face a Crawley side that appointed new manager Colin Kazim-Richards during the week. Gale knows that Saturday's opposition will pose a difficult test, despite their recent struggles, and that they will have to go there with a clean slate and do all that they can to get three points.
Harry Waldock has broken into the starting XI in recent weeks, and Gale is delighted for the academy graduate, who followed a similar path to his in making his way into the first team set-up.
On Crawley...
They will have a new manager bounce, but we know what to expect. They aren't a bad side, Crawley. They brought in a lot of their players that they had success with a few years ago when they got promoted, so they are a good side. They aren't in great form, but neither are we, so we can't take that for granted.
We have to go into Saturday and think that we're better than them and play like that, and try to have that psychological impact on the game. That's all that we can do. It's their manager's first time taking the reins as a first-team manager, so there isn't much that we can read into that.
We have to go in as a clean slate and try to get the three points.
The importance of finishing the season strong...
It's massive. There is no dressing up that it hasn't been good enough recently. I think that it is fair to say that we are underachieving with the ability that we have, and I think that we expected more from ourselves. We are disappointed and we are hurting. Winning as many games as we can before the end of the season is really important for us.
We need to restore a bit of pride within ourselves as a team and try and get the fan base back on side, because quite rightly, I think that they are disappointed with us, and they have shown it. There is nothing wrong with that because, at times, it has been warranted.
For ourselves, our own pride and the Football Club, we need to get back to winning ways.
On fellow academy graduate Harry Waldock breaking into the first-team...
I'm really happy for Harry. First things first, he's a brilliant guy. He has gone about it the right way and played his senior football out on loan, and has been patient and has worked for the opportunity. I said to him a few weeks ago after he made his first start, 'Listen, now you have to start expressing yourself. I went through the same thing. The first few games, you are a little bit nervous, and then once you start to feel comfortable, now you start showing what you are good at, and establish yourself in the team and prove why you're there.'
I think that he is starting to do that. You can see that he's a good athlete; he carries the ball well, gets about the pitch, and in this league, it is massive. As a central midfielder, you can see that he has got the frame and the power, and when you add a good footballing brain along with that and passing range, which he has got. He has got a really bright future. It is brilliant to see him breaking through similarly to how I did almost a year ago.
