Assistant Manager says mood in camp remains positive...
John Schofield says the mood in the Gills camp hasn’t changed whatsoever despite beating Northampton 2-0 at MEMS Priestfield earlier in the week.It was the club’s first home win since the 2-1 victory over Morecambe on November 17, but the Assistant Manager says the players maintain the same mental attitude whatever the result.
He said: “The mood is exactly the same as it was before the game – bubbly, bright and positive like we have been all season. Our aim is to get as many points as we can over the course of the season and whether that be at home or away we need to make sure we keep picking them up.
“We are still on track, that’s what it’s about and over 46 games is what we’ll be judged on.
“Every game we play is never taken lightly. We look at their strengths and weaknesses and put together a game plan which we think will get us maximum points every time we go on to the pitch.
“It will be no different whoever we play in the league or the cup, we do exactly the same.
“We’ve got a good squad; on the bench we have players who can change the game. I’m sure the opposition will look to see what they can get from us and they might change their game but we need to concentrate on what we do.
“We can’t be guided too much by what other teams do. Yes we look at set pieces and headers etc and we put together a plan for every game on its merit and what we need to work on to get the points.
The lads effort and commitment to injury prevention has been fantastic. James Russell and Gary Hemens have been superb and the lads have bought in to what we want to do.
“To not have any injuries at this stage of the season with 18 games to go is brilliant.”
John said it’s a great feeling being at the sharp end of the table, and says the entire team is coping well with being the side that everyone wants to beat.
He said: “It’s fantastic to be top of the pile, we have been there a long time now and it brings with outside feelings from other people. Other teams want to be the best team in the league and at the present moments that is us.
“We become a scalp but that’s part and parcel of being a good side.
“I think we are coping with it and if you look at the teams around the top end of the league they are misfiring at times but we can only concentrate on what we are doing, and we’re doing OK.”
Finally the Assistant Manager said the presence of the Sky cameras on Monday evening for the game against Wycombe should have no influence at all on the overall performance, but admits it will be nice for football fans to see how the Gills play.
He added: “For other people to see us play, we get a lot of coverage from Sky and the Football League Show etc but League Two is a decent league and a lot of teams try to play football.
“There will probably be another six cameras but we need to look at them as another six supporters, we can’t control the fact they are broadcasting.”