Gillingham boss Gareth Ainsworth takes his side to the North West this weekend to face Salford City hoping for his first three points as Gills manager after two really encouraging performances in his opening games in charge. 

Looking back to Tuesday’s draw, we asked Ainsworth what disappointed him more about Colchester’s controversial goal in the 1-1 draw, the fact that a foul wasn’t given in favour of Sam Gale in the build up, or the fact that a goal was given?

Smiling, he said, “Toss a coin, I think! I am the biggest defender of referees and assistants going as they have a tough job and must be absolutely sure, especially in a goal decision.”

“But I think when the amount of people stop and say that the ball was out of play, must tell you something.”

“I think the linesman was obscured by the goal as well, it is a really tough job but hopefully we will get one back later in the season at some stage – I do believe that it evens itself out, but I did feel for Sam as I thought he had a fantastic game, but that one moment he will probably learn from and if we had walked away from the game with a 1-0 it would have been a justified result with the way that we played.” 

“I think I have learned a lot about the players going a goal down in both games and coming back shows character and that is something that sometimes you have to build.”

“I believe I have learned a lot, and I probably underestimated the players a little bit,” the manager conceded.  

“I have come in and they have surprised me as there are some good players in this squad, and I think for one reason or another – and I don’t know why – they just haven’t clicked. But they really clicked the other night, and I was pleased to see it!” 

“I would have loved to have taken that penalty in front of the Rainham End with all the fans there with all the experience, but Max (Clark) was the lucky one who stepped up and… what a feeling!”

“The fans really played their part, and a lot of it will be emotion lead for me and I think I get most of it right, so Tuesday night was great!” 

“The players are the ones working so hard and deserved the plaudits. I can put a plan in place, I can ask them to do something, but that won’t win the game, the players will win the game, the specific players, the team, that wins the game, and they deserve the plaudits.”

“I have a part as well which is lucky – I always believed it’s about “we” and “us” and never just one person; the players are on the pitch, and they will do thing that you can’t coach.”

“You can coach ten or twenty percent, but the rest of it is up to them and they are the ones who deserve the credit when they play well like Tuesday. The players were fantastic and deserved all the plaudits on Tuesday night.” 

Keeper Glenn Morris made his one hundredth appearance for the club against Colchester and the manager had nothing but praise for his stopper saying, “Glenn has been there, done it, got the T-shirt in football!”

“Six hundred plus career appearances and one hundred for Gillingham – for any club that number is a great achievement!”

“To acknowledge Tuesday is certainly the right thing to do, and he would have loved to win, I know that, and I have to say that since I walked through the door, he has been brilliant.”

“Almost what you sense on the pitch is what he is as a person – a calmness and an assuredness – and he has good experience to the young back line we have at the moment where they have energy and enthusiasm where they probably need a bit of leadership and Glenn is that solid one behind them!”

“It’s great for him, but I am sure that, like me, he will say that his career is nowhere near ended as goalkeepers can go on for a long time! And I was really pleased to be the manager when he made his one hundredth.”  

Turning his attentions to the weekend’s trip to Salford, the boss said, “I’m sure they will have been watching them as we have been watching them doing analysis since Tuesday,” Ainsworth told our briefing this week.  

“I’m sure it will be very cagey with both teams as we want to win the game as I am sure they will be as well. Karl (Robinson) has done a great job there as there was a lot of pressure going in and taking the job last year.”

“It hasn’t quite clicked for him as people thought it would with all the Manchester United connections, and they are probably finding how tough it is to be in professional leagues.”

“But they have had a good season, they have some good players and we will have to be at it on Saturday because we know what we can do, we have to earn the right to play, but hopefully I will see more what I saw Tuesday night as I was really impressed with the game.”

“We are going to Salford to win and hopefully bring some points home with us!” 

Ainsworth concluded by confirming that Tuesday’s squad came through the games with no injuries and will travel with the addition of suspension free Amani Little although the manager wouldn’t be drawn as to whether the team skipper would regain the armband from Robbie McKenzie or not adding, “I am quite impressed with the robustness of the players so far.”

“We have changed training and sometimes in the intensity, people pick up little things and with the conditions on the training pitches at this time of year can be bobbly! So, I’m really pleased that we have a full squad to pick from for the weekend.”  

Image courtesy of Gillingham FC