A losing run hasn’t knocked Gillingham midfielder Tim Dieng’s belief in the team.
The Gills head to Swindon Town this Saturday off the back of a five-game losing streak that has seen them drop from top to mid-table in League 2.
It’s been a dramatic turnaround of form for a team that had started the season backing up their hopes of being a promotion side this term. Dieng hasn’t lost that confidence.
He said: “We’re in a tough situation at the moment but I think we have enough to win against any team in this league.
“We just need to stay together, stay positive. put on a big performance and get a good result. We need to get that win, stop that bad momentum and start a good one.
“We showed that in the first two months of the league that we can beat any team and we can be the best team in the league. It hasn’t changed.
“We still have the same qualities within the squad so we have to find it within us and start another winning streak.
“I think we have to trust the process. We showed that the process is working in the first few games of the season, so it’s just that we have to stay together, get back to the basics, try to stay hard to beat, keep clean sheets and try to score goals.
“The mood among the players is still positive. There is still a belief that we have good players and we have enough in the dressing room to get out of that situation and start winning games.”
The Gills were dominant on Tuesday against Newport County, losing 2-0 despite having 25 attempts at goal and the majority of possession.
“We haven’t been good enough in both boxes,” admitted the Frenchman.
“The first goal was out of nowhere, a great finish, but nine times out of ten he wouldn’t have scored that goal. It happens and we have to score our chances as well.
“We have to react quick because we don’t want those five games to become six, seven, eight. We need to stop that losing streak.”
The Gills started well at Bradford last Saturday, with Dieng assisting Jayden Clarke for the opener, but lost 2-1.
One of those goals was scored from a set-piece and so were two on Tuesday night. It’s a bad habit Dieng knows they need to get out of.
“We’ve conceded goals that are not like us,” he said.
“We conceded three goals on set-pieces in the last two games and that’s something we took pride in not conceding.
“That’s what’s killing us a little bit at the moment. We have to just fix those little errors and go from there.”
Manager Mark Bonner has called on the more experienced players to up their game and Dieng’s aware of the responsibility of being a more senior player in the squad.
He said: “I’ve been through these types of times at previous clubs and I know how it is. You have to stay positive.
“We always say you can’t be too low when it’s going bad and too high when it’s going well and this is exactly it.
“We need everyone at the club to support us and fair play to the fans that will travel and the ones that won’t travel but support us from far.
“The support is massive and a big thank you for the fans. We need it and they give us that extra energy on the pitch to perform.
“We want to put on a big performance so they can have a smile on their face when they leave the stadium.”
