Gillingham travel to Cambridge United on Saturday still smarting from Tuesday’s thumping at the hands of MK Dons and boss Gareth Ainsworth is challenging his players to play for their futures.

With many of the Gills squad out of contract in the summer, Ainsworth conceded that Tuesday’s “performance” was nowhere near good enough as the boss told KSN at this week’s briefing. “I wasn’t happy with the output or the effort on Tuesday as its always there but some of the decisions and some of the play and defending.

“I have said to them that if that is their best then we all have real problems and I have a hell of a problem to make it better, and we will!” the Gills boss said almost defiantly. 

“We are in a crazy situation at the moment as we have so many injuries at the moment and we got another one Tuesday night which is insane and of the injured, they would all be starters really and I don’t think people understand as I am normally quite coy about giving injury news out, but for the sake of the boys we have a hell of a lot of injuries.

“We might get one or two back for Cambridge this Saturday, and that is the reason that we are coming up short at the moment. We had illness too with Sam Gale after Saturday and that took us totally by surprise – we have all sorts going on and these are really tough times to go through as a manager has to go through…. but I have to pick the boys up and get them going again.

“I need these boys supported and encouraged to go again – there are some young boys out there and I want them encouraged and hopefully, the fans will encourage on Saturday and get right behind us because we need it!” 

“We’re missing the stalwarts that we have had all season, and we hope that some may back, we’ll see, and we will see where we are! We were pretty under strength the other night and I’ve had a few messages from fans since Tuesday and we understand that!

“But that wasn’t good enough for the ones who were on the pitch, you must make the right decisions, you must defend better; output fine; positioning, defending, decisions got to be better at that… and we will, starting Saturday hopefully!”!

“It’s tough times again but we have taken them head on in the past and we will do the same with the next couple of games because we have two tough games coming up – going to Cambridge is going to be tough enough as they are a very good side.

“The boy’s reaction since Tuesday has been a decent on and I expect that because they are professional footballers – they need to do the best they possibly can when they are at work, and they will certainly be at work on Saturday at three o’clock!”

Cambridge are flying high in League Two with their own promotion dreams and Ainsworth told us, “There’s no pressure us with what’s happened here at Priestfield this week. We have had a couple of freaky injuries, and I have never known anything like it in my career.

“We probably won’t have the “household names” that supporters are used to, but there is a chance now for people to shine – go out there and give it your all away from home as we face a promotion contender.

“The Abbey Stadium is always going to half a special place in my heart as I scored my first League goal at Cambridge back in what 1991 – it has a place in my heart but I want to go there on Saturday and win, a game that we want to win, a game that we can win – we know that it’s going to be tough but no game in this division is easy!”