John Egan is hoping that the Gills can take advantage of a great atmosphere inside the MEMS Priestfield Stadium during Sunday’s Millwall match to clinch a play-off position and top off an impressive season.
The Irishman has been a fans’ favourite this campaign and was rewarded by winning the Away Supporters’ Player of the Year Award for the second year running.
“It's great that fans keep coming to games and keep supporting the lads. They see the effort we've put in and we’ve had some good days out this season. Millwall was a great day for the away fans and so was the draw at Southend, when our fans filled out the away end.
“The following is great and it's always good at your club to have a group of core supporters home and away. Hopefully we can repay them now on Sunday, and we can give them a nice trip to Wembley at the end of it.”
The Irishman believes that the disappointment of being down and out of the play-off race for a couple of minutes after the loss at Burton can spur the team on against Millwall.
The Gills suffered a last minute defeat at the Pirelli Stadium on Saturday, and Barnsley and Scunthorpe were both winning, which would have meant the Gills’ top-six hopes had vanished.
“As soon as they [Burton] scored I had the feeling that we were gone as we didn’t know the scores in the other games,” said Egan.
“I just had a feeling because of the way the goal went in and so late. I went back into the dressing room and people were saying that Barnsley had won 2-1.”
However, 10-man Colchester struck in the seventh minute of injury time to keep the Gills’ hopes of a top-six finish alive in the most dramatic of fashions.
“All of a sudden you hear that Colchester scored and you're still in with a shout. We don’t want to be relying on other people’s results but that’s where we are now and we’ve just got to hope for a bit of luck on Sunday.”
Manager Justin Edinburgh said that the message to the players is clear; that they have to win the match on Sunday.
“There’s disappointment after Saturday's result. I think the last two performances are nearing to where we were for long periods of the campaign. We’ll take a good vibe and feeling from that.”
Edinburgh believes that the sell-out MEMS Priestfield Stadium can have an influence on the players on the pitch when the Gills clash with the Lions on Sunday.
“It’s our last home game of the season, maybe. There’ll be a big crowd, a great atmosphere and everything is set up for the players to perform. They know what they need to do, and I have every confidence they will deliver that.”
Related: FINAL TICKETS REMAINING FOR MILLWALL