Gillingham host Phil Parkinson’s Sunderland this weekend looking to increase the pressure on the Black Cats boss.
Parkinson’s side have slipped to 11th in the League One table and have just one win in nine behind them. Those results include a draw against the Gills in the FA Cup First Round, plus the replay defeat in which Brandon Hanlan grabbed the only goal.
That’s led to some familiarity between the two bosses. Gills gaffer Steve Evans has been speaking to press ahead of the game and, as reported by the Chronicle Live, he feels he’s seen more of Phil Parkinson than he has his own wife.
“I think I’ve seen the manager of Sunderland AFC more than I’ve seen my wife in the past few weeks,” he quipped.
Referring to the cup encounter, Evans believes that it’ll be a changed Sunderland squad that make the trip down to Kent this weekend, but is still confident of getting the right result.
“Phil will have different players available (from the cup replay) but we are in good form and we are confident. We are trying to build something here; the boys have a great work ethic and we have a fantastic captain in Max Ehmer.”
The Gills will be looking to make it three home wins on the spin, following success against Tottenham Under 21s and Lincoln City in recent matches.
Our View
If you listen very, very hard there’s a distinct possibility that you still won’t hear Mrs Evans complaining about the situation.
Joking aside, these two clubs should know each other well enough by now to cancel each other out; it’s got ‘draw’ written all over it.
Gillingham are tough, resolute and unspectacular. That’s everything Phil Parkinson aspires to be, but it’s not enough to make the Sunderland fan believe in him. It could be a tough afternoon for the beleaguered boss, even if he does get a point.
