Gillingham play their first home game of 2026 this weekend when Newport County come to MEMS Priestfield with boss Gareth Ainsworth excited to get a game.

For boss Gareth Ainsworth, the seventeen days that his squad have had away from playing has given the squad and management team time to regroup and for the niggling injuries that were around at the end of 2025 to hopefully all clear! 

“I wouldn’t say it feels like a “second” opening day,” Ainsworth said when we asked him at this week’s briefing. “We have been in – what we have tried to do is give the players four or five days away from here as we haven’t played for sixteen days, so when you’re training (all) the other days that’s not a lot of time off.”

“I’m hoping that there is no rustiness as if there is, I will be on them straight away and that’s down to me – I am the manager of this club and it’s up to me to make the players right from the start!” 

“We’re all really looking forward to Saturday and getting back out there. It’s what we are – footballers! We knew the tenth was going to be off as MK were involved in the Cup still but the Notts game being off caught us cold on the Friday.”

“We used this little break with a few little reminders of principals and who we are – as I say the boys had a few days off to clear their heads, but we have been training hard all this week ahead of Newport, and personally I can’t wait to see us playing again!” 

“It has given us an opportunity to get these players who have just come back – you really do chase your tail sometimes in the winter months as with an injury, you’re coming back, trying to get game time and it’s really tough to put those players in the team just to build up their minutes especially when you don’t have a reserve team.”

“This last two weeks really has come at the right time for some players – getting their fitness levels up, getting their strength – we are looking forward to Newport as we have a schedule now that looks busier with the cancellations but we have to deal with that – looking forward to it!” 

“Football is a relentless game, it really is!” 

“It is a brilliant sport to be involved in and I am not saying for one minute that we are not lucky people, or course we are; we love what we do, we are in the football game which many people would give their right arm to be.”

“But the Christmas period is relentless, hotels, travelling away, and myself and Dobbo (coach Richard Dobson) have had a couple of really late ones this week just because it’s transfer window time and we are trying to do the best for the Club.”

“It’s been nice to have the days off but you do miss it, you really do – matchdays is the best day of the week and I can’t wait for Saturday and pitting my wits against Newport County here at Priestfield which will be another tough game – they all are in League Two and we will have to be on our game!” 

“Hopefully we will are close to bringing someone in – there is a lot going on! You must remember that there is a lot of contexts on who we want to bring in – we have one of the best defensive records in League Two.”

“We have lacked a conversion of chances at times, we haven’t scored enough so, can we create “easier” chances and can we stick them in the net.”

“It’s hard because you can say that we haven’t converted enough but I don’t think that we have created enough easier chances either so there’s always context to everything.”

“What I am happy with is the way that we are solid and are in every single game!” 

“Myself, Joe Comper, Brad, Shannon (Galinson), we are all working really hard – it is tough, some in this League are spending crazy money, crazy figures but this Football Club have fantastic owners who care so much about this Club and they will do it right by the Club as we try and improve the squad as we want to – it’s a team effort, it’s a real together thing and with Brad and Shannon being over at the moment, it’s great to see them around the place and it just gives the completeness of Gillingham another level and hopefully we can give them the win on Saturday.”