Gills Manager thanks supporters for making long trip
Martin Allen thanked Gillingham supporters for getting behind the players during their 0-0 draw against Exeter last night and appreciated the efforts they all made in getting to the game.
A snow blizzard in Kent made travelling conditions difficult for both the players and the fans, but the Manager took time out during his press conference to applaud the 237 strong Gills faithful for the part they played in achieving a point at a tough ground.
He said: “I’ve got to give a special mention to all of the Gillingham supporters, they were all behind the goal and it wasn’t an easy game to watch. It wasn’t great to watch but we stuck in there and I just hope they have a good sleep on the bus and get home safely and I thank them all for coming.
“It was a long way down here and to see them all I was shocked and surprised, a fair effort on their part.”
The fans that did make the trip witnessed another club record being broken as the Gills extended their unbeaten run away from home to 11 games, and the Manager was delighted to hear that another piece of history has been recorded.
He added: “Is it? That’s great. The credit is really for the players, obviously it’s nice as a manager that I can take training and put the sessions on but they are the ones that go over the white line.
“The players are the ones who deserve the credit. They put the effort in – they listen, they respect each other, we all respect the players and we all work very well together.
“That’s a pretty special thing to do, very special. I still think there is more to come and we play Saturday away at Morecambe and then Tuesday at Rochdale so we just have to keep going now.
“Even while we are talking all the players who haven’t played tonight have all been on the pitch working behind the goal and all the ones that played have all been warming down.
“All the ones that didn’t even get on the substitutes bench are filling the bus and loading it up with all the equipment and I think those are the signs of a good team and commitment from everybody in our staff to do the best for our club.”
Martin said before the game that he would make changes to his team, and he decided to make two of them with Deon Burton and Danny East replacing Chris Whelpdale and Danny Kedwell, and he responded to whether he sees these as difficult choices.
He said: “No they are not difficult at all, no.
“If the players were not very good then it’s difficult because you scratch around and think who can you put in, but we’ve got the pleasure of having all of our squad having played in winning teams.
“I trust them and they know I trust them and we played some good football. We tried to move it about because they are not an easy team to play against down here because they keep possession and that’s the name of their game.”
For Martin's immediate post match reaction click here.
To watch his press conference and activate your free Gills Player trial click here.
For a full match report on the draw at Exeter click here.