Lovell: "The main thing is getting the boys fit"

Lovell pleased to see so many players get 90 minute games.

Gills boss Steve Lovell said a lot of preparation will be put in over the next couple of weeks to ensure his team are fit and ready for the opening league game against Accrington on August 4.

Lovell was in charge for the club’s 2-0 defeat at Ebbsfleet on Saturday, and although the result didn’t go his way, he was happy to see a number of players complete the 90 minutes.

He said: “We got what we wanted to get out of the game; obviously we didn’t want to lose, but it’s a pre-season game and the thinking of splitting the teams was that the majority of the players got 90 minutes in their legs ready for two weeks’ time.

“The plan is to get the boys to peak and be ready for August 4th. You can have a really excellent pre-season but sometimes it doesn’t make any difference. The main thing is getting them fit.

“I haven’t picked a side and I haven’t got a side in my head at the moment; there are so many people individually who are playing well.

“We now have to get a team and a system together in order to go to Accrington and get a result. We will be working on that.

“I haven’t played the fully strong XI all the way through pre-season; I’ve had a look at the new boys and where they fit in, and they’ve fitted in very nicely. A lot of the young boys that have come in have made me realise that they are good players and can be in my first-team. That’s why I signed them.”

Mark Patterson took charge of the club’s other game against Dover Athletic, a match the Gills won 3-0 thanks to a brace from Navid Nasseri and another goal for Liam Nash.

Lovell said: “We’ll see each other tomorrow, chat about it and go through how, collectively, the teams played, how individuals played, what positives came out of it and what we need to work on. It’s two good games played against good opposition.

“Ebbsfleet are moving in the right direction and they gave us a really good game today. The second was a worldie but the first one was a sloppy one for us to give away. We had chances to score and make it tighter than what it was but the boys got the minutes.”

Tom Eaves was missing once again for the Gills and the Manager explained why.

He added: “Conor Wilkinson should be back for next Tuesday or Saturday so it will only be Tom Eaves missing in the next couple of weeks.

“It’s fine, it’s just a little ligament injury and hopefully he’ll be ready, maybe not for the first game of the season, but maybe the second.”