Mark Bonner was delighted with the overall team performance in their 1-0 win against Chesterfield at the MEMS Priestfield Stadium on Saturday.
Robbie McKenzie's early first-half goal proved to be the difference, but life was made more difficult during the second-half when Max Ehmer was sent off for a second bookable offence.
Bonner was glad to see his squad dig deep in such tough circumstances, seeing players adjust faultlessly to their situation.
After being made to swap ends before kick-off, the decision to do so worked in Gillingham's favour, with the Rainham End's support giving the team an added boost during a second-half that involved a lot of defending.
The 38-year-old also saw the togetherness in his squad that has been crucial to their start to the season, which he believes is the key to a successful side.
Thoughts on the game...
It's a massive result. To take ten points from the first four games, and three clean sheets on the bounce with the circumstances. It shows huge character.
They're a good side. You could see that we did things a bit differently. In the first-half, I thought that we had some really good bits. We were more comfortable in certain moments with the ball. High pressure that turned the ball over well.
We had a horrible start. The first few minutes, we were honking, then after that, we got going a little bit. We scored the goal, a superb goal. Deren [Ibrahim] and Pete [Gill] work on those things all the time with set plays, but the execution from Jack [Nolan] and Robbie [McKenzie] and everybody else was very good.
What pleased me the most was how we adjusted when we went to ten; how people had to change position, and how we changed completely in the first-half today in how we wanted to press and showed a real good urgency, willingness and understanding in how to do it.
The late substitutions...
It was really good to get Josh [Andrews] on the pitch. It gives us something to hit and to play onto. We were in the game quite well with ten, so it was a bit nervy as to whether we needed to twist and change anything.
Then it gets to a tired point. Lapo [George Lapslie] had cramp. I'm not surprised after the unbelievable work he put in and the shift that he put in.
The togetherness in the squad...
It tells the story that whoever plays has to be ready. What I love seeing at the minute is that there is a togetherness in the team, where whoever plays knows what they're doing and is working their socks off.
Whoever doesn't start is maybe disappointed, but you see every player on the pitch afterwards celebrating a win together. That is how you are going to build a good side.
The supporters...
Hopefully, people will stop turning us around now. Actually, the way the game was, we needed them behind us in the second-half in a funny turn of events. At the end, when you are defending, and you need real concentration, and you need that extra motivation to stop them and keep the ball out of the net, the noise in certain moments in the last 20 minutes was unreal.
