With the transfer window slamming shut on Monday until the summer, Gillingham have been busy this week bringing in Cameron Antwi and Ronan Hale to the Priestfield squad.
Boss Gareth Ainsworth has been talking about his new men this week and KSN were there as he started with Antwi a signing from fellow League Two side Newport County.
“The boys are all buzzing with the new signings coming in the door and the new faces coming in; it does make a difference and do not rule out anymore, but I am really happy where we currently are as we get ready for Bromley at the weekend – never say never and we will see what happens in the next few days!”
Antwi, who ironically scored his final goal for his old Club in the five-goal thriller at Priestfield two weeks ago (and apologised for doing so in his welcome social media message this week)
He told us, “Cameron is going to add to our options in the midfield area, whether it is sitting deep, getting forward, he’s very versatile which is great and can even play up front as well. He brings a wealth of positions for us; his calmness on the ball, some great energy and some youth into the team.”
“Ronan is a striker who we have been tracking for a while. We are really pleased to get him over the line – he has a real good pedigree and goal-scoring record. He is very sharp in and around the box; gets his shot off and is a real bubbly character and I think that playing international games for your country shows the calibre of the player that he is.
“Probably not shown as much at Ross County, with all respect to Ross County, but it’s a team that has probably struggled a little bit and we want to be a team that gives him the opportunities and the platform to perform and play his best stuff. I am really pleased to get the deal done and cannot thank Brad and Shannon enough for their backing and Joe Comper for getting the deal over the line.”
Some people have raised questioned Hale’s move from the second tier in Scotland to the fourth tier in England – Ainsworth response was clear. “If people want to think like that then they obviously haven’t seen too much of League Two because it is a fantastic League with some brilliant teams in it and I think that we have to make sure that we are very respectful of whatever League we are talking about as there are some good players in all Leagues and for someone who has the goal ratio of Ronan, he will score in any league and we are lucky to have him!”
Ainsworth added, “The boys are all buzzing with the new signings coming in the door and the new faces coming in; it does make a difference and don’t rule out anymore, but I am really happy where we currently are! They (Antwi and Hale) have both trained now on Thursday and look good and we now wait to see if they are involved on Saturday.”