Manager satisfied with four points from last two away games...
Martin Allen said his players looked more solid and difficult to beat during their last two away games which saw the Gills take four points from their trip to Yorkshire.
A 1-0 win over the Bantams on Saturday was followed up with a 0-0 draw against York on Tuesday evening, and Martin said the whole club feels very together as they continue to pick up as many points as possible.
He said: “When we are where we are in the league you just have to keep picking up points and keep adding and that’s why I was disappointed in myself in that Wycombe game. I should have been more defensive minded, taken the point and been happy with that.
“John Schofield and Carl Muggleton were very helpful tonight and we set our stall out, if you had given us four points from the two football matches we have just played away from home we would have been very happy.
“After playing against a team that had lost 4-0 on Saturday I suppose you would be pretty mad to just think you would come up and roll them over 4-0 and I don’t think anyone in their right mind would ever think that.
“We just knew that the opposition were going to have a reaction. They signed two players at the last minute and put them straight in to their team so you knew there was going to be a positive reaction from the York players and they gave everything for their Manager.
“Once they had weathered that storm we kicked on in the second half and we just couldn’t manage to get a goal.
“Every game we play is tough; it’s tough for me, the players and the supporters. It’s high expectation and anticipation.
“There will be ups and downs but along the way we will give it everything we have got and it’s another good result on the road.
“I think the players have done a magnificent job, and all of our staff, the supporters, the local media and it feels like everyone is involved really. A long trip back, but a nice trip back.
“We had very few chances against us, we looked more solid and more difficult to beat and we tried to pass the ball a lot more aswell. On Saturday the possession against Bradford was superb, we really did get the ball down and play and take the pressure off.
“We took the sting out of the game by keeping the ball, we didn’t perhaps pass the ball as much as we would have liked but the pitch didn’t help for sure.
“I still think we tried to get the ball down, play and move the ball around. We didn’t create as many chances as we would like to but overall I thought it was a good performance from the players but I think all of us, on and off the field, you can see we are all trying to improve.
“Me especially to make our team and our squad and club better.”
A win would have seen Gillingham break a club record of 10 away wins in a league season and return to the top of the table in the process, but the Manager says he doesn’t think about that and concentrates solely on preparing his squad in the right way.
He said: “I’m sure that’s what all the supporters talk about, that’s natural and understandable. When you’re in the job that I do I have to talk about the preparation, the performance, how we are going to do it, the ethics and basics of how we play and pick the right team and train them right.
“I have to think about the process. I can’t say `if we win we go top, ` I have to think about how it’s going to get us the win and how it will get us to the top and get the players to break a record.
“I concentrate on the training and preparation; it sounds a bit boring but that’s just doing my job but let’s try and get as many points as we can.”
Martin said the trip has been a worthwhile one but did reveal that Charlie Allen will be out of action for a while after suffering an injury during the first half at Bootham Crescent.
He said: “Charlie Allen broke his hand again in the first half and played on for 30 minutes so that’s why he came off at half time so he will be out now for a while.
“Bradley Dack has come in and trained really well after his spell at Braintree so we have the players on the bench. I thought Adam Birchall and Myles Weston did really well when they came on – I think there is a unity, I think there is a respect of each other and for the supporters.”