Conor McManus is glad that Gillingham have had a free week as they continue to build towards Saturday's fixture against Bristol Rovers at the MEMS Priestfield Stadium.
The left-sided defender admits a week without a fixture is something that has been welcomed, allowing the squad to have more time on the training pitch as they look to be in the best possible position heading into Saturday's game.
Steve Evans' Bristol Rovers travel to ME7 off the back of a strong start to the season. McManus knows that they will present a physical challenge.
The 22-year-old, who has recently been called up to the Republic of Ireland U21's, also touched upon the 2-0 victory over Tranmere Rovers, with the clean sheet being a nice bonus for the entire team's hard work.
Importance of having a free week in preparation for Saturday's fixture...
It is crucial. Everyone knows how difficult a Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday is, and it is a hard schedule to keep on top of. I think that we are all kind of grateful to get that break. Not only to get a bit of downtime for the legs, but also because we are still working hard on the training pitch.
I think that it is to get those little tweaks on the training ground. Things that we may not have liked at the weekend, or things that we know that we can do better on. It gives us more time on the training pitch to hone in on those little things to make sure that we are in the best position on Saturday to do well.
On Saturday's fixture against Bristol Rovers...
We know that they are going to be a physical side. They are up near the top, and they are going to be a team that is near the top for probably the majority of the season.
I think that every game in this league is going to be a physical challenge, and we have done very well at nullifying those threats in the past few games. I think that it is just more of the same with minor tweaks. We have done a lot of work on the training ground this week, and hopefully, it will come to fruition on the weekend.
Securing a clean sheet on top of the victory against Tranmere...
First and foremost, the win is most crucial. We want the three points, but I think that the clean sheet is just the cherry on top, especially with a performance like that and the performance that the back three/five have been putting out the last few weeks. I think that it's deserved.
We have been working incredibly hard over the last few weeks on preventing goals and defending our box, whether it's set plays or open play. It is something that we work towards every day.
Like I said, it's a nice little cherry on top for the back five and the whole team because it comes from the top, and the strikers press as well.
