John Coleman has had an affinity to Gillingham supporters’ ‘Last Waltz’ ballad long before taking over as the club’s manager.
The Gills are aiming for a third home win in a row this Saturday and Coleman would love nothing more than hearing the club’s favourite song being belted out by fans at the final whistle – a winning tradition.
Coleman’s got a soft spot for the 60’s no.1 hit. His grandmother was a big fan of the song’s chart-topping vocalist Engelbert Humperdinck.
The Gills picked up just a point from their first four games at home under Coleman and were booed off on several occasions. The mood’s much better now after winner the last two.
“It’s been brilliant,” he said. “Last Saturday was fantastic, for a few different reasons, but just seeing how much the crowd wanted it and how hard the lads worked for it and the scenes at the end when they’re singing The Last Waltz.
“I get quite emotional with that song anyway because my late grandma who lived with me all my life.
“She died when she was 93, so she had a good innings. She used to love Engelbert Humperdinck so that always reminds me of her when I hear that.
“I think Jimmy (Bell, assistant manager and housemate) might get Alexa to play it on a Saturday morning sometimes! I’m lying in bed and thinking, ‘I’m sure that’s The Last Waltz I can hear!’
“It’s synonymous with Gillingham and it’s nice when you’ve got a song that is like that. It gets quite emotional for me and I think the fans enjoy singing it when we win, which is good, isn’t it?”
Gillingham’s 1-0 win over Morecambe at the start of March ended Coleman’s wait for a home win and they followed it up with a 1-0 victory over Bradford City a fortnight ago.
League leaders Walsall are the latest visitors to ME7.
Coleman said: “It’s going to be a fascinating game and I hope the fans play a big part in getting us over the line.
“It would be lovely to get three on the spin.
“We still want to get enough points that we know we’re (mathematically) safe.
“We want to climb the table. We want to make this a horrible place to come to and an attractive place to come to if you want to sign for us.”
The Gills have five home games left this season and Coleman doesn’t know if he’ll still be the club’s first-team boss once the current campaign ends.
It means he can’t do too much planning ahead but insists that he doesn’t like looking beyond the next challenge anyway.
He said: “We’re only looking from week to week, game to game. I’ve built my career on just concentrating on the next game and making that the most important.
“The most important game of the season should be the next game. The most important game of your life should be the next game. If you have that mentality, you tend to eke out the most of it.
“I look at the top strikers who play in the Premier League. The ones who are chasing the golden boot. They’ve got to be flying in every game in order to achieve that golden boot.
“You don’t get any more goals because you’ve scored one against Man City. It doesn’t count as two or three. It’s the same as if you’ve beaten the bottom team. Players have to have that mentality that you’re full throttle every single time you play.
“There’s no easy games. You give it everything you’ve got until you’re over the line and the season’s done and then you start recovering, recuperating and preparing for the next season. You’ve got to keep that cycle going.
“It’s difficult when you get games coming thick and fast. But you’ve got to have that mentality that we’re going to go again, again and again.
“The pleasing thing is, in football, is that you can always get rid of negative emotions or being hurt by a game, because you’ve got another chance to get back on the horse and rectify it.”
