Manager John Coleman knows he’ll need more than an upturn in performances to claim the Gillingham job beyond this season.
With one win in 11 ahead of the weekend, Coleman needs improved results to get the chance to reshape the Gills in the summer ahead of a fresh assault on League 2.
Coleman has 12 games left to get the Gills on a roll and convince fans and the owners that he’s the man to revive their fortunes.
Ahead of their match with Bradford on Saturday, Coleman said: “If tomorrow was the last day of the season and you’re trying to get a job, the fans (will be saying) ‘you’re giving it to a fella who’s won one in 11?’
“Sometimes you have to see past that. Sometimes you have to say ‘Are the club going in the right direction? Are the players playing the way Gillingham players should play?
“If we’re getting that right, will the results follow? It’s always a risk whenever you appoint anybody, or whenever you sign anybody. You have to take a lot more factors in than just results, although, I’m wise enough to know that that’s not always the case and it’s definitely not the case with perception.
“Fans see the hard currency and the hard currency is points and wins and goals.
“Let’s get it straight. One win in eleven, nowhere near good enough. I accept that fully.
“I think the students of form and the people who have watched every game will have seen an improvement in the way we’ve played, in the effort, the passion. The fact that we are making more chances. That will count for nothing if we don’t win games.
“Winning games of football is the currency that drives people on and so it should be, really. You just try your hardest to win more games.
“One win in eleven isn’t good enough. You don’t have to tell me that. I know that. I’m not trying to hide behind that.
“We’ve got to win. For my own sake. That’s not a good enough performance for any manager if you’re not winning games. You’ve got to accept you’re responsible for a big part of that. Not all of it. But for a big part of it. And there’s reasons.
“I think if you stripped it all away and you just dispassionately looked at every game we’ve played between when we first came and Tuesday night. We probably should have won four. Maybe five. But we haven’t.
“What do you do? Do you moan? Curl up in a ball? Or do you stick your chest out. We can win games. We’re capable of winning games.
“We’ve had teams on the back foot plenty of times this season. We’ve had things go against us that maybe shouldn’t have. They’re all gone now. It’s what you’re going to do going forward. We’ve got to stick our chest out.”
Coleman will want to get a chance in the summer to rebuild, with many players out of contract and a real opportunity to make changes.
The Gills boss has been linked with the vacant Tranmere Rovers management position but says he’s putting his all into the job at hand.
He said: “I’ve got a job to do in a really, really good club that I’m really enjoying – apart from when we lose.
“I’m working for good people. That’s all your focus can be on.
“I know I’m good at my job. I know the results haven’t said that but I know myself and Jimmy are good at what we do. We want the results to start reflecting that. At this moment in time, we haven’t.
“People can say what they like about me and Jimmy. We’ll give it our all.
“It’s difficult to stamp your authority and your mark on a team when you’ve only got the job to the end of the season but we knew that when we came in. There’s no bleating about that. There’s no moaning about that. We knew the landscape when we came in.
“It’s a great club. There’ll be a lot of work to be done.
“I’ve always been one of them managers that don’t really have the summer off.
“When you go on family holidays, you find that you get sidetracked very, very often. That’s the nature of the beast. You’re either in or you’re not. I don’t believe in doing things half measures.
“Summer’s great. The sun’s shining like it was at training (this week) and it was beautiful. Hard work has to be done. Whoever’s manager or wherever I am, I’ll always be working as hard as I can.”
Coleman knows the 12 games remaining will be over in a flash.
He said “Them games quickly disappear if you don’t perform. We’ve got to be mindful of that.
“One of my big things is I want us to score more than one goal in a game (which hasn’t happened yet). It will drive me insane until we do.
“I’ve been used to it happening so often. It’s frustrating. The players have got to want that. The players have got to want to get an early goal, then go to get another one. Like teams do when they win games.”
