An update from the manager.
With the new season just a couple of days away, Gills boss Steve Evans does not want to dwell on Tuesday's defeat to Norwich, but focus on what needs to be done on Saturday when Lincoln visit ME7.
The manager was able to take plenty away from the game with players getting valuable minutes in the tank. After the fixture Steve provided an update on injuries, transfer news and much more.
On playing at Norwich:
“It’s a pleasure to come to Carrow Road at any time to play football and manage teams here, and they get wonderful support. I thought tonight [Tuesday] was what we needed. We needed to step a lot of players up in terms of how hard we worked. A really intense 70-90 minutes, and we got that.
“It’s an education for some of our players to play at that level, and it was good to be involved in.”
Injury update ahead of Lincoln:
“I think Ben Reeves and Kyle Dempsey have a real chance. It was about precaution. There was nothing wrong with Vadaine Oliver or Olly Lee at half-time, and we just decided to take them off, so they’re fresh and ready if selected. We hope to have those players available. It will be whether they train Thursday and Friday.
“I’m hopeful that we’ll have some of those players available, and I think the medical team are as well. The real proof of that will be whether they train properly on Friday and wake up on Saturday and report to the medical team that they’ve had no issues overnight.”
On John Akinde coming off:
“He said he was feeling his ankle. It was something that he felt at Leyton Orient as well. We said to all the players tonight that if they feel anything, they should let us know, and we will take them off.”
Looking ahead to Lincoln:
“They’ve signed some wonderful players and will make it really tough for us. They’re one of the early favourites for automatic promotion, and that’s how tough our challenge is. What do you do when you face tough challenges? You get up, and you fight. We will ask our boys to fight on Saturday.”
Transfer Update:
“I need to have a sit down with the chairman tomorrow and have a fresh chat. See what we can and can’t do. There are two players that we’re in discussions with that weren’t here tonight. They would be a big help to us. If we can add them and get two or three of the injured players back, then we will be competitive on Saturday.”