Building momentum is key now for Gillingham says their head coach Stephen Clemence.
A first league win under Clemence came last Saturday against Salford City and the Gills are on the road this weekend when they visit lowly Tranmere Rovers.
The Gills scored three goals against Salford – the first time they have netted more than two in a league game this season – and picked up a win to give fans hope that the current campaign can start to take off.
Clemence isn’t concerned about those expectations and now hopes to build on last weekend.
He said: “There is always pressure in football and the boys should be enjoying the attention, enjoy that people are talking nicely about them and taking that confidence into the next game.
“The way you move up the league is by building momentum and putting back to back results together, putting runs of three, four or five games together where you don’t get beat, that is what we are aiming to do now.
“Last Saturday was the first time the team had scored three goals at home in a long time and the boys have been happy, there have been smiles on faces, but there is a determination to get on with the next game now.
“You don’t go anywhere in this league unless you build a bit of momentum and you put runs of results together.”
Tranmere start the weekend just outside of the League 2 relegation zone on goal difference but Clemence doesn’t expect them to be struggling for long under experienced manager Nigel Adkins.
The former Scunthorpe, Southampton and Charlton manager was handed the Tranmere job on a permanent basis in early November after taking over his home-town club in September on an interim basis.
Following a run of four straight league defeats, Tranmere narrowly lost to League 1 Stevenage in the FA Cup, before a win over Forest Green and a draw at Sutton in the league, taking them out of the bottom two.
Clemence said: “Nigel has been around for a long, long time and someone I have a lot of respect for. I know it will be a difficult game, he will have them well organised.
“Every game is a tough one, Nigel is a very good manager, he has shown that many times over many seasons in the past, he has great enthusiasm, a really positive person and I expect them to climb the table.
“I know they have definitely got one or two players that we have to be wary of and it’s never easy going to Prenton Park. Their fans will be right behind them but we have to try and quiet them down and take our game to them.
“I think Nigel will get them climbing the table soon, but hopefully not on Saturday!”
Clemence has come up against Adkins before on opposite sides of the dugout but remembered last seeing him at a boxing match.
“I saw him at an Anthony Joshua boxing match at Wembley and he was sat in the row behind me,” recalled the Gills boss.
“I have come up against him maybe at Southampton, he has a connection to Scunthorpe, which we have also in my family and I have always watched how he has done in his career.”
With a first home win in the league behind him, Clemence is now hoping he can tick off another achievement by bringing three points back to Kent.
“Let’s hope so,” he said. “We will be going there to take them on, we definitely won’t be going there to sit back and wait for them to come to us and we will see if we can get a result.”
*Gillingham under-18s beat Eastleigh 3-1 at Priestfield on Thursday night to clinch a place in round three of the FA Youth, where they will host Oxford United.
Will de Wilde’s effort from 20 yards separated the sides at the break and although the visitors levelled in the second half, goals from Jimmy Heasman and Ben Clark in quick succession clinched the win for Mark Moss’ Gillingham side.
