Gillingham manager John Coleman accepts that they’re heading towards a relegation battle on current form.
The Gills still have a reasonable cushion between themselves and the bottom two, and games in hand over the teams around them, but it’s a sorry state for a team to find themselves in after sitting top of the table in late September.
The weekend loss leaves the Gills nine points ahead of the bottom two, down in 19th place.
For the second season running the Gills fans were sold a dream of promotion and it’s looking like another wasted effort as they trail the leading clubs by some distance. They haven’t won a game since mid-December.
Coleman came in last month, following Mark Bonner’s sacking, to try and turn the form around but he tore into the players on Saturday after another meek performance, losing 3-0 at fellow strugglers Barrow.
The chairman admitted afterwards that he was embarrassed and Coleman was asked if they’re now in a relegation battle.
He said: “Well, if we don’t pick up, we will be in a relegation scrap but I’ve been around long enough to know that the only way you (get out of) that is by hard work.
“We’ll have to see a different Gillingham team on Tuesday (at Walsall).”
Coleman spoke to the press shortly after delivering a verbal rocket to the players after Saturday’s loss and said “the gloves are off”.
He’s had previously threatened to get them in for overtime but he’s lost patience.
He said: “There’ll be a lot of sanctions, there’ll be a lot of soul searching, there’ll be a lot of effort put into it. The staff put as much effort in as we can.
“We’re going to have to work every single day of the week and we will work every single day of the week between now and the end of the season, and that means the players will be coming in every single day of the week.
League 2 table
“From Monday morning, there’ll be no days off between now and the end of the season.
“The rocket they got off me was quite vociferous. That’s only the tip of the iceberg if we don’t buck our ideas up but the first thing we’ll start is, we’ll start earning our money. And if that means coming in every day, that’s what we’ll do.
“They’re too cosseted. The club can’t be criticised for this and I know the fans will criticise the club. Everything is put on a plate for them, probably too much, and that’s got to change.
“You’ve got to start earning the right to be a professional footballer. You’ve got to start earning the right to represent people, because we’re representing a town here.
“We’re representing Gillingham as a place then we’re representing a set of football fans who deserve miles more than this.”
