Gillingham boss Gareth Ainsworth has called on his side to maintain their unbeaten record under his management as they travel to face Cheltenham Town on Good Friday. 

Speaking to KSN at this week’s briefing, Ainsworth told us, “Cheltenham have had a tough time too,” he said, “But I’ve known Mike Flynn (the former Gils midfielder who is the Cheltenham boss), and have played against him and managed against him before and know what to expect – they will be super competitive this game, undoubtedly, but Good Friday at three o’clock always gets the fans in.”

“Hopefully we can come away with a win before coming back for another big game against Wimbledon at home on Monday!” 

Looking back to Saturday’s win over MK Dons, the Gills boss said, “The scenes at the end last week after beating MK Dons were awesome,” the Gills boss admitted, beaming.

“I took off down the touchline like a lunatic; everyone, all the staff, all the players in that area were elated, so what it must have been like on the pitch was amazing.”

“Bradley (Dack) has waited patiently for that moment, he really has, and I am glad that it has come under me because he bought into what I have tried to bring to the Club.”

“He is a leader – definitely a good footballer, and we need to work on getting him fit and up to speed as quickly as possible because a fit and quality Bradley Dack is a good player in the team.”

“He’s been very patient – we talk regularly – it was really great to see him do well. I know what it’s like to be injured for a long time without the severity of injury that he’s had, but I’ve had some pretty bad ones and to score a goal like that first game back is always a nice moment so… he’s part of the squad travelling to Cheltenham on Friday!” 

“You don’t always get what you deserve in football, and we didn’t against Colchester, definitely! “Ainsworth went on.

“The other draws, I felt, were probably fair, but then last Saturday, it was two teams who have struggled this season for one reason or another, but we had the best chances – Taite (Holtam) didn’t have a shot to save apart I think on one effort – whereas we flashed the ball across their box a few times and had multiple shots on target.”

“We didn’t look greatly threatening until those last moments, but it was almost like we deserve it for the two and a half weeks that we have been in the building, so it was nice to get my first win!”  

“It’s the Easter weekend now and we’re looking forward to getting stuck into two games, and I’m looking forward to seeing some of the players that I haven’t seen too much in games yet!”

“But you have to balance without belittling the game or going with a side that you’re just experimenting with, we want to win the games, but I would like to look at a few new faces too!” 

The manager confirmed that there were still questions of fitness of Glenn Morris, but confirmed that he would not be recalling Jake Turner from his loan at Dagenham & Redbridge.

Ainsworth said, “Taite did really well in the game, so if Glenn doesn’t make games, I’m confident that Taite can step up; I think we protected him well, and we have no reason to recall Jake for one game; it’s what number twos are there for, and Taite did well and if Glenn isn’t fit, he deserves to have another chance.” 

With regards to the rest of the squad, the manager confirmed that Euan Williams would at least miss the Cheltenham game and probably Monday’s game with AFC Wimbledon too whilst there was better news as Jonny Williams is part of Friday’s squad whilst Ainsworth is hoping that Ethan Coleman will be fit enough to play some part in the final games of the season.