We look ahead to Saturday's league fixture at Priestfield
GILLINGHAM V SWINDONSky Bet League One
MEMS Priestfield Stadium
Saturday January 18
Kick-Off, 3pm
Team News:
Chris Whelpdale (ankle) remains on the treatment table for at least another week as he tries to overcome the injury which forced him off against Walsall late last year.
Danny Kedwell will be given every opportunity to be fit for the game; Amine Linganzi could feature after playing 75 minutes in a development match against Oxford on Tuesday, but Charlie Lee definitely misses out with a knee problem.
Craig Fagan could start after signing a deal until the end of the season.
As for Swindon they are without defender Ben Chorley who serves the second of a three match ban, but former Gills loanee Jay McEveley could make a return after suffering a knee injury late last year.
Ryan Harley provides another option after overcoming a bout of tonsillitis.
However the game may have come too soon for Troy Archibald-Henville, Tijane Reis and Alex Smith.
Manager Comments:
Peter admitted that last Saturday’s performance against Colchester in the second half was unacceptable, and is looking for a response from his players for the visit of Swindon.
Speaking exclusively to the club’s official website he said:
“They are a very good Football team and are playing with a lot of confidence. It was a disappointing night for them [during the week] but I expect any team then to try and bounce back, but they have some good footballers and I know a couple of them very well.
“They are a good team and we need to make sure we don’t watch them play their Football. There were enough things on Tuesday that I could see where we could go and hurt them.”
Watch Peter's exclusive video interview here.
Swindon – The Gaffer
Mark Cooper
Mark took over as Swindon boss earlier this season following the sacking of Kevin MacDonald, who had appointed Cooper as his Assistant after just five games as Manager at Telford.
The 45-year-old enjoyed a long playing career that spanned over 20 years, mainly plying his trade for non-league teams at the time such as Exeter, Tamworth and Forest Green.
His first full time management role was at Tamworth in 2005, making the step up from Assistant boss the season before.
He joined Kettering in 2007, going on to win the Conference North before deciding to replace Darren Ferguson as Peterborough boss in 2009.
A spell at Darlington and a return to Kettering preceded his short time at Tamworth before taking the helm at Swindon.
The Skipper – Darren Ward
The uncompromising centre back joined the club at the start of 2013 after a successful loan spell at the County Ground. He initially signed until the end of the season before putting pen to paper on an 18-month deal in the summer.
He began his career at Watford in 1995, and would stay at Vicarage Road for five years before, via a loan stint at QPR, joining Millwall in 2001.
Across three stints at the Den he played close to 250 games and this season has played 32 games.
One to Watch – Alex Pritchard
Pritchard, a lively winger, is somebody Peter Taylor knows well having been included in his 21-man squad for the 2013 U20 World Cup.
He came through the youth ranks at Tottenham Hotspur but failed to make a first team appearance prior to a loan spell at Peterborough last year.
After six games he returned to his parent club, and Swindon acted quickly at the start of this campaign to secure his services on a season long loan deal.
He is contracted at White Hart Lane until July of 2015.
Swindon – the season so far
Coming in to the game at MEMS Priestfield Stadium Swindon lie 8th in Sky Bet League One with 37 points (11 wins, four draws and 10 defeats) to their name.
The start to their season was positive as they won four of their first seven games in all competitions, one of which a 2-0 triumph over QPR in the second round of the Capital One Cup at Loftus Road.
A tough September was followed up with a decent run in the months of October and November; the Robins winning eight of 13 competitive fixtures.
However their form has dwindled slightly ahead of their trip to Kent, their latest result being a 2-0 defeat at Stevenage. That coming just days after a 2-1 win over promotion rivals Peterborough.
Current Form (last six games in all competitions):
Gills: DWLDWL (8 points)
Swindon: LWLDWL (7 points)
Previous Meetings:
The teams last met at the County Ground in August when a late Cody McDonald strike was enough to snatch a point in a 2-2 draw.
Prior to that the Gills most memorable result against the Robins was the 5-0 victory on the opening day of the 2009/10 campaign under Mark Stimson.
Simeon Jackson’s hat-trick helped begin the season in the best possible way, with Mark Bentley and Adam Miller also on the score sheet.
However the head to head statistics belong to Swindon with Saturday’s visitors having won 35 of the 91 fixtures between the teams.
Gills have 29 to their name, with the other 27 resulting in a draw.
Betting:
Sky Bet are offering odds of 23/10 for the Gills to overcome Swindon at Priestfield.
Cody McDonald is 13/2 to score first, with Craig Fagan 9/1 to grab the opener just days after signing a deal until the end of the season.
For Joe Martin to score in a home win, you can get a good price of 22/1.
To create an account and register your bet, click here.
Officials:
Referee - ANDREW MADLEY
Assistants - Michael George and David Rock
Fourth Official - John Magill