Gillingham skipper Lee Martin has been talking this week about the departure of coach Ady Pennock – the second Priestfield boss to lose his job in Martin’s short spell at the club.

Martin missed the bulk of season 2016/2017 after that horrific injury in the pre-season game at Leyton Orient, and admitted that watching the events on the pitch – both before and after his own comeback had been difficult.  He told us, “I’ve had a massively frustrating time looking on after I broke my leg in pre-season last year.

“The boys went on a good run and then coming back and not being able to get up to full speed and going through the highs and lows of last season before we just about stayed up which was a big high!  It’s difficult to put it all together – we started pre-season pretty well this year and looked to kick on but it didn’t happen!  But that’s the rollercoaster that is football.  It’s bitterly disappointing that it’s ended that way for Ady, and now we’ve got to move on!”

“I’ve seen change and difficulties like this before – nothing seems to surprise me anymore!” he continued.  “I have to say that there was real disappointment in the dressing room on Monday morning – you don’t want to see anyone lose a job that is their livelihood and provides for their family but it’s a results business and we’ve got to look at ourselves – we haven’t got that many senior pro’s here at the club; we’ve quite a young squad so everyone needs to look at themselves but the buck does fall on the senior boys as we’ve been there and done it so it should be down to us to round the boys up and go again starting Saturday.”

Turning to Saturday we wondered if there was any extra pressure given the week’s events prior to the trip north to Ewood Park.  “It’s another game of football that we have to go out to try and win,” the Gills skipper admitted.

“I try not to think too much about pressure but I don’t think that that comes into games like Saturday.  We’ll go up there to Blackburn and we will want to win – I think it’s a mind-set; if you go and look at it any other way you’ll fall short and come up against it even before you cross the line.”