To dare to dream for Gillingham fans as their side face Doncaster Rovers this weekend hoping to edge closer to the League One play-off places.
Four wins in their last five outings have seen The Gills climb to 9th place in the league, just two points outside the top six, but having played more games than most of the teams around them.
Steve Evans is expected to keep faith with the side that cruised to a 3-0 victory at Lincoln City on Tuesday night.
That saw John Akinde partner Vadaine Oliver up front as the pair forge a devastating partnership that will undoubtedly create fear in any League One defence for the remainder of the campaign.
A midfield four of Stuart O’Keefe, Alex MacDonald, Jordan Graham and skipper Kyle Dempsey pulled the strings at Sincil Bank and Evans could be tempted to keep faith with the quartet after an impressive performace.
With other League One managers having questioned Gillingham’s style in recent weeks, Evans has deflected the criticism and accepts it’s a form of flattery as teams struggle to keep up with his in-form side:
“I keep listening to managers saying that we are good at what we do. There is no good in us not being good in what we do!”
“We have to find a way to win. We can play through the lines; we have Dempsey in the team, O’Keefe & Graham. They are all passers.”
“When they (Doncaster) come to Priestfield on Saturday, it will be a stern challenge. “They have a top-class squad and I am sure they will be in that top six and trying to get in that top two.”
Gillingham’s sometime direct style won’t always please the purists, but you can’t deny how effective it is proving to be and it’s yielding results at the business end of the season.
Evans will monitor the fitness of Connor Ogilvie ahead of the game after sustaining a knock late on at Lincoln, but he is expected to start alongside Ryan Jackson, Jack Tucker and Robbie Cundy in a back four that’s looking more and more solid by the week.
James Morton could once again be missing through injury, whilst Matty Willock and Christian Maghoma will be battling it out for a place in the squad after missing Tuesday night’s trip to Lincoln having missed the bus after getting stuck in traffic.
Doncaster will be no pushover as they start the game sitting 5th in the league and are three points better off than The Gills. A win for the Kent side and the dream could very much be alive.
Picture supplied by Gillingham Football Club.