Gills midfielder says squad are up for Vale visit....
Chris Whelpdale says the players are feeling confident ahead of the game against second placed Port Vale on Saturday.
The top two teams in npower League Two collide for the second time this season with the Gills coming away 2-0 winners at Vale Park in September, and although Whelpdale says it’s a big game, he believes the squad need to treat it the same as any other.
Speaking in his midweek press conference he said:
“It’s a big game but at the same time it’s just another game and one in which we are looking to get three points. The boys are ready, we have trained really hard this week and we are all looking forward to it.
“I don’t think there is loads of pressure, we just need to go out there and do what we have been doing.
“We have been playing well recently since the start of the New Year, that’s been good for us and if we start games the way we have been, get in their faces and putting the pressure then hopefully we can get the three points.
“The way we play we break teams down quite well and we have showed that during the season. We are all confident and we look forward to three o’clock on Saturday.
“They [the fans] are the 12th man and if they go right from the start it spurs us on to do that extra bit and it can help the team massively.
“You can hear and feel the atmosphere, it’s a great feeling.”
Whelpdale admitted that the team were slightly disappointed when Port Vale took top spot before the New Year, but said the boys rallied together and were determined to put it right.
He said: “I think we had a bit of a bad patch and the boys wanted to put that right and we’ve started the last two games well, we’ve gone at it and started the games strong. We’ve got out of the blocks fast.
“It was a bit disappointing but it was only for a couple of days but we put it right. We were a bit dis-heartened but we have managed to get that little lead again and hopefully we make it bigger Saturday.
“You always want to catch the top team so we know how Port Vale are feeling, they want to come here and take the points off us.
“We have just got to keep going; it’s a different scenario being top of the table but it’s one I’m enjoying.”