For the third straight season, Gillingham go into the opening day of a new campaign with a different manager at the helm that started the previous season and Gareth Ainsworth is excited to get underway.

But as the Gills and their travelling fans make the long trip on Saturday to Accrington Stanley, they travel with the “new” man already boasting an unbeaten League record in the Priestfield hot seat as Gareth Ainsworth looks to continue his unbeaten start as Gillingham manager. 

Speaking to KSN this week ahead of the new season, the Gills boss told us, “We are lucky people to be involved in the sport, we’re in a good place with nothing to fear – really pleased with the way that pre-season has gone and we are all looking forward to get stuck into the proper games. It will be a great barometer for everyone at the Club.” 

“But believe me that this game does not sort out our season,” Ainsworth stressed and continued, “Sometimes, you get kicks up the back side and sometimes it also tells you of the right things that you have done!”

“We’re going to Accrington Friday, and I hope that the boys give a really good account of themselves because there is a positive mood in the camp, as there always will be, let’s go for it!”

“It’s an honour to wear this shirt and represent Gillingham FC and I am sure that the boys will give it their all!” 

“We worked out the other day that this will be my thirty-seventh or thirty-eighth opening weekend,” Ainsworth recalled.

“When people say what do you miss most when you leave the game as a player, I think that you get some generic answers – missing the lads and the banter! I don’t believe that at all as I don’t believe that there is anything better than being a professional footballer, running out in front of a crowd and competing.”

“That’s what we “miss” and that’s what we are born to do. It is a really important honour to represent people, to have fans follow you all over the country looking for you to give it your all.”

“And that’s what I want to boys to do – we stress to them that they mustn’t let this pass them by as it doesn’t last very long. You don’t get some times even the next game let alone the next year or the next season, you have to make everything count and I will be making sure that we make every moment count.”

“Put in the work and smile and feel like you belong to Gillingham with an identity that we are going forward with as you put on the shirt and pit your wits against what will be eleven Accrington players on Saturday! We all love it and cannot wait to get stuck into the season.” 

“Accrington is always a tough place to go. We haven’t a lot of footage on them, but conversely, they won’t have much on us either.”

“Once the League starts going it gets easier, but these early weeks are a struggle to see what’s going up against you, so in these early weeks, especially adaptability is going to be really important.”

“John Doolan (the Accrington boss) is a good manager and respect him a lot, especially doing the job he does with a Club that doesn’t have a great deal of resources.”

“I’m from that area and I know exactly the way, what it takes to grow up in that area and so we have prepared for what’s going to come, but at the end of the day, League Two is very much like that with a lot of transitions, a lot of physical attributes and sometimes you have to mix it as much as play great football and I’m sure we’ll have to do both on Saturday as we will have to do on most Saturdays.”

“All I can say is that I have prepared my boys the best way I believe that I can, and we’ll see what happens on Saturday – we are really looking forward to it!”