Gillingham head for Crawley Town this weekend with boss Gareth Ainsworth’s plans being thrown into disarray by the Sussex side’s midweek sacking of Scott Lindsey.

Lindsey, who played for the Gills in his early career and still lives in Kent, had been in charge at the Broadfield Stadium for a second time for just over a year, departed the job this week and has been replaced by Colin Kazim-Richards and the change has posed its own problems as Ainsworth admitted.

He told us, “We have to focus on ourselves and what we do, and we must do that between now and the end of the season. Everyone can get frustrated and everyone can get down about it, but we go again with positives, and we head to Crawley, who as you say have changed their manager.”

“We seem to have met new managers quite a few times this season, but we have to go there and give everything we have to get out of the run that we are on.”

The Gills have lost their last four in League Two and Ainsworth went on, “We have to focus on things that we are going to do rather than what Crawley are going to do as they have had a manager change.”

“Scott, who is well known in these parts and a good friend as well is gone and I am gutted for him, but that’s football management and we have to make sure that we play our game on Saturday and go there to get the points!”

“I have said in the past that the boys give everything and we want the levels to raise sometimes and some won’t be able to reach those levels despite being at full tilt.”

“There will be some who can and get better, but it’s my job to sort out and motivate these boys to be playing out of their skin as we know that as usual we will have a good following on Saturday – the fans are great and will get behind us giving one hundred percent – so I want to make sure that my boys do as well!”

“Just try to raise the levels up because we need to as teams are getting better and better in this League which is why we have had a tough second half of the season.”

“Everyone gets injuries,” the Gills boss went on, “Ours are slowly coming back, but it has been one of the worst that I have ever known in my career. But there are reasons and there’s reasons to solve it and ways to improve it and we are going to try and do that!”

“We live with injuries in football – it is tough but as I have said many times it seems look at the top sides, it’s the same with them. Look at Liverpool without Van Dijk or Man City without Rodri, you lose your best players and players that are key for you… we have had too much of that, but no violins from me we must go again, it’s an opportunity for everyone else!”

“Hopefully that said, one or two may be back before the end of the season which will come quick!”

“I just don’t want the season to peter out into a nothing – I have pride and I want to make sure that we turn some teams over, and we will be going for it, but it has happened as well as a few things this season – it’s been very stop start and next season I am hoping will be much better.”