Gillingham manager John Coleman has urged his squad to build on Saturday’s 1-0 win over Morecambe when they travel to Newport County tomorrow night.
The former Accrington Stanley boss had endured a torrid time since taking over from Mark Bonner in early January. He joined the club after a 2-0 defeat against Bromley had plunged them into mid-table, but things had since gone from bad to worse.
Talk of promotion at the beginning of the season had more recently turned into relegation fears. Although Coleman had made Gillingham tough to beat, avoiding defeat in five of his opening nine games, he was still awaiting his first win prior to the visit of relegation-threatened Morecambe.
Robbie McKenzie grabbed the winner 11 minutes from time to edge a tense affair at the Priestfield Stadium, earning the Gills a first victory since December 14th. More importantly, the three points has seen them move up to 18th in League Two, 12 points above the drop zone.
Coleman Refusing To Get Carried Away
Although the result is a huge relief for the veteran boss, Coleman has his sights set on back-to-back wins when they travel to Newport County tomorrow night. Speaking to official club media, he said:
“We have got to hope that is a catalyst. You don’t just say ‘all right we’ve won now, we’re going to win every game that we play’, that is never going to happen. We have now got to up the work rate again, and keep up on the work rate until it’s May and then they can put their feet up, go on holiday and have a well earned break.
“We have now got to find a way to win again, hopefully we will on Tuesday.
“The focus then goes onto Newport and preparing our players right and getting ourselves into a position where we can compete. I don’t want it to be just one win. It’s felt like forever and I don’t want that feeling again.”
Writer’s View
The relief was there for all to see when the full time whistle blew on Saturday afternoon. The longer a winless run goes on, the harder it is to make amends, and Gillingham showed real character to beat Morecambe. Although it was arguably a tie they were expected to win, there’s not doubt it was a mammoth result and it could give them a real lift. A similar result tomorrow will see them leapfrog Newport in the table and give them some momentum to finish the season strongly.
