Adrian Pennock is hoping his spell in charge at Gillingham gets off to a winning start at Oldham Athletic on Saturday.

Some ten days after he was appointed, the former central defender takes his squad to Boundary Park looking to get a win and lift themselves up the League One table, but already Pennock may be hampered.

Three or four players have been struggling with illness in the past few weeks and although not naming them, Pennock is hoping he will have one or two back for his first game in charge:

“We’ve got another 48 hours to go so we will be assessing them Friday evening.”

“We have got a bit of illness in the camp. Unfortunately there are three or four who have gone down with illness which is a bit of a blow.”

“Obviously I’m not going to show my hand at this present time. But I’ve worked with all of them individually and spoke to all of them individually.”

“I do believe we’ve got the players in the squad who can start Saturday. But everyone will be important. We’ve got 21 games and they’re massive games for us. I can’t wait for that first game.”

Billy Knott is back in training and Pennock will have everyone other than those with injury available and wants to get his spell underway with three points:

“Like I said when I first got the job, we need to hit the ground running and it’ll be great if we can get the three points. It’s going to be tough but we’ve got to go there and more concentrate on us than anything else. If we get those three points then I’ll be very, very pleased.”

“It’s been a very good week. Obviously I’ve been fortunate in that I could work with the players at the weekend. They’ve been very good, very responsive, and have put a lot of hard work in. It’s been a very good week, very productive.”

“I’ve been working with sections and obviously collectively as a team. They’ve responded really well and I’m really looking forward to Saturday. The proof will be in the pudding on Saturday.”

“They’ve been brilliant, they’ve been fantastic. They’ve learned different ideas through different voices with Jamie [Day], Steve [Lovell] and Neil [Withington] with me as well.”

“But I can’t complain at all. They’re buzzing; they can’t wait for Saturday and likewise for us, we just can’t wait for the game.”

“They haven’t moaned or groaned. They’ve just got on with it to be fair. They’ve been brilliant and I cannot complain at all. Long may that continue.”

Pennock is renowned for watching a lot of football and he’s already scouted Oldham in the week, watching them against Mansfield in the Checkatrade Trophy on Tuesday night and knows his team will face a stern test:

“I went on Tuesday. I’ve said all along, there’s no easy game in this league or any league. It’s an important game for them but I’m focused on us. We’re going to go up there and hopefully get the three points. ”

“They play three at the back. But I’ll be honest I’m really focusing on us. We go there with a good attitude and play how I want us to play. I want to be really positive.”

“Like I said when I first got the job we need to hit the ground running and it’ll be great if we can get the three points. It’s going to be tough but we’ve got to go there and more concentrate on us than anything else. If we get those three points then I’ll be very, very pleased.”

Asides those struggling with illness, Pennock will be missing both Baily Cargill (returned to Bournemouth after his loan spell ended) and Frank Nouble (released).

The Head Coach is looking to bring players in before the Oldham game, but the clock is ticking.