Gillingham head coach Stephen Clemence felt the time was right to bring his number one keeper back into the side on Saturday.
Veteran stopper Glenn Morris played the previous nine games before Jake Turner was returned to the starting line-up for the match at Bradford.
Morris had been in goal for the 5-1 loss at Harrogate but Clemence insists the change didn’t come about because of that scoreline.
He said: “Glenn has done nothing wrong and this isn’t me blaming Glenn for what happened (last) Monday (at Harrogate) at all and I have had a long conversation with Glenn about it.
“Jake, for me, has been the number one and I felt he had to come back into the team at some point and so I made that decision.
“It was a tough call, we have two very good goalkeepers, but I knew balls would be coming into the box and I felt Jake would be able to help us with that too, and so that is why I made that decision.”
Last season’s player-of-the-year Morris has been back-up to Turner this season, only returning to the league starting XI after an injury to Clemence’s no.1 keeper. Morris initially held onto his place in the team when Turner returned to fitness.
Former boss Neil Harris put Turner ahead of Morris in the team at the start of this season.
On Saturday, Turner saved well from Bradford’s Andy Cook – who had scored seven goals in his previous four games against the Gills – early in the game at Valley Parade but a shot from the edge of the box late in the opening half beat him. It was the only goal of the game.
Clemence, speaking straight after the game wasn’t apportioning blame, and said: “It was a shot from the edge of the box that’s gone in and I don’t know if he was unsighted or what but it’s gone into the bottom corner. Any goal you concede you can pick faults in can’t you?”
