Gills boss delighted for his players after dominant win at Crewe
Martin Allen said his players deserved to feel happy following the 3-0 win over Crewe Alexandra on Saturday.The Gills produced a fantastic display which saw them score three times without reply and, in the process, lift themselves off the bottom of SkyBET League One.
The Manager was delighted with the effort shown, and says the same approach to the game will be used for next weekend’s clash against the MK Dons at Priestfield.
He said: “That performance doesn’t just come from them having a laugh or me shouting and being horrible – that’s coaching, training and the players contributing aswell.
“We worked out a way of playing, put that in to practice, done the sessions, everyone knew what they were doing and we will do the same this week.
“I’m always proud of them, even last week I still felt they had a go but there is a difference between having a go and making it happen.
“There is a different edge – we had to practice harder on our attacking, defending, throw ins and set pieces for and against because defending set plays has been crucial for us.
“If we had kept the set plays out against us this year we would be just outside the play-offs so its not a million miles away but as a Manager it’s my job to tweak those bits, make decisions, change the team, change the players and adjust it.
“They deserve to be happy, we have all had it full on and they should be happy. They have all worked hard, we have got three points and there will be a lot of relief.
“I’m sure they are very tired mentally and physically. All their hard work and effort has paid off.”
Martin made four changes for the trip to the Alexandra Stadium, one of which being the inclusion of Callum Davies who replaced Leon Legge in the heart of defence, and Allen felt a change such as this one needed to be made considering recent results.
He added: “I suppose you could call it bold but we haven’t kept any clean sheets yet and he’s been playing very well. I’ve watched all of the development games so far and he has been fantastic.
“I have been doing a lot of personal work with him one to one and with the other young boys because you have to bring them through.
“There has been a step up in the work for Dack, Allen and Davies because if the senior players didn’t hit the mark that we needed then those three would go in and play.
“One of them went in and the other two are full of running, energy and enthusiasm who are great athletes. I’ve kept Allen and Dack out of it so far but if results don’t change they were the next pair in.
“They are both good players and fit as butcher’s dogs.”
Read more from the Gills Manager here.