John Coleman said he could not question the effort of his players after they were held to a goalless draw by Crewe Alexandra at the MEMS Priestfield Stadium on Saturday.
The visitors were reduced to ten men with 15 minutes to go and Gills dominated the second half, however the visitors somehow resisted intense pressure.
Despite the improved performances, Coleman is still not pleased that his side have not broken the duck of not winning a game since mid-December. He is pleased with the response he has seen since the defeat to Barrow, but is keen for his squad to not rest on their laurels, knowing there is lots to improve on.
Sam Gale was awarded the 'Sponsors' Man of the Match' award for his solid performance in the game, with the Gillingham boss full of praise for the young central defender.
The intent of trying to win the game...
I thought that our fans were magnificent. I really wanted us to score for them, more than anyone, to be honest. You can see the effort that the lads have put into it.
With 25 minutes to go, we have made four brave subs. We brought four attackers on. That showed our intent, and that was when it was 11v11. That wasn't when they were down to ten. We are trying to win games, and hopefully, it won't be too long before we have to wait for it.
I'd always risk a point to win three. I'm not going to come here and be happy with a 0-0 draw. I'm happy with the performance and the effort that we put in, but I'm not happy with drawing 0-0. I can't be.
The thought process of changing the wing backs...
I thought that we had two players who would normally play as full-backs as wing-backs, so I thought, let's flip this and put two players who would normally play as wingers as wing-backs, and let's see if we could ask questions. Jack [Nolan] put some unbelievable balls in, and Jayden [Clarke] had a couple of lively runs. Jack has put three on the money.
Bouncing back after Barrow...
I'm pleased with the response, but I am disappointed with both results. We should be sitting four points higher up the table. That's the harsh reality but you don't always get what you deserve. Even at the end, I don't know how the ball stayed out if I am honest. I am delighted with the response that we have got.
On Sam Gale...
He should have scored. I've said all along that I am a big fan of Sam Gale's. I said on Thursday that he will definitely captain this club.
You don't get many young centre-halves who have got his appetite for the game.
The thing that he has that a lot of centre-halves haven't is pace, and pace covers a multitude of things. Don't forget that he is only a kid, and he will get better as he progresses through this season. I think that he has got a really steady partner in Max Ehmer.
He's reading the game like he's older than he is. You can't buy that desire. That's either in you or it isn't. That's why I think he's definitely leadership material. He speaks up in here when we're having meetings. He's not shy.
Looking ahead and trying to break the winless run...
We can't rest on our laurels. We can't say that it's going to come. It won't come if you don't work hard and don't give it absolutely everything. There's areas that we can improve on, particularly in the first half. We have got to do that. We have got to improve.
