Gillingham manager John Coleman reckons there’s a lack of quality in League 2 and hopes Saturday’s win is the start of things to come.
The Gills got a deserved three points against Morecambe, victory that ended a 13-game winless run. Coleman’s got the team playing with more purpose and takes them to Newport with hopes of securing another victory.
“The league’s very much of a muchness,” Coleman said.
“Even the teams who were in the lower echelons, there’s no real difference.
“There’s a lack of quality in the league, possibly down to the pitches which haven’t been the best this season, as a whole, in the league itself.
“I think there’s a lack of quality. There’s definitely an increase in desperation by a lot of teams and when you’re desperate you tend to just kick the ball as far as you can.
“We’ve got to try and get away from that, even though we’re desperate to win games. We’ve got to try and play our way through it.
“We don’t want to be a team who plays for the sake of playing and gets the ball taken off them in stupid areas. We want to be a pragmatic team who can change our style of football when it suits us to try and hurt the opposition.”
Coleman had drawn five games and lost four of his first nine as Gills boss.
He decided to get tough after a sorry loss at Barrow in early February and picked up three consecutive draws before a loss to Fleetwood at home.
Robbie McKenzie scored the winner on Saturday against Morecambe to break that winless sequence.
“I just don’t want it to be one win,” Coleman said.
“It’s felt like forever. I don’t want that feeling again. I know we’ve got good lads in there.
“You’re seeing the never say die attitude.
“I think we’ve turned a corner in terms of performances but we haven’t in terms of results.
“We’ve got to hope that’s a catalyst. You don’t just say that’s it, we’ve won now, we’re going to win every game we play. That’s never going to happen.
League 2 table
“We’ve now got to up the work-rate again, and keep upping the work-rate, until it’s May and you can put the feet up and go on holiday and have a well-earned break.
“We’ve got to go again. First and foremost, we’ve got to try and get the points that make sure you don’t go down, or you don’t get pulled into a relegation fight.
“Secondly, we’ve got to give the fans what they deserve, particularly at home. Every team we play, we’re capable of beating. I’m not scared to say that because I don’t fear any team in this league.”
The Gills moved up a place to 18th on Saturday, now 12 points clear of the relegation places.
They would climb at least one more position on Tuesday with a win at Newport, playing a side who have lost their last two games 3-0.
Coleman said: “It is a chance and that’s what we’ve got to do. Anyone we can tick off going above, we’ve got to try and do that.
“There’s a steely determination in this team. You’ve seen it the last few weeks. It’s not hot air.
“I know we haven’t had the results but you can see the determination in the players. Unless I’m seeing something totally different. Which I don’t think I am.”
