Gillingham manager John Coleman’s keeping the door ajar for those who put the effort in.
Coleman has made it clear he prefers a settled team and despite having a large squad to choose from, he’s been sticking to a small group to fill the starting positions. He named an unchanged XI at the weekend.
Since the debacle at Barrow, where a 3-0 defeat led to big changes, only 14 players have claimed places in Coleman’s starting XI from the last eight games.
Big summer signings Bradley Dack, Aaron Rowe and Jack Nolan haven’t made the last few matchday squads and neither has top scorer Jayden Clarke.
But in recent weeks a few forgotten faces have started to chip away and get involved.
Jonny Williams has made a positive impact off the bench in the last two games while striker Jacob Wakeling made his first appearance under Coleman at the weekend.
Peterborough loanee Wakeling hadn’t played for the Gills since before Christmas. He posted a meme of wrestler ‘The Undertaker’ rising from a coffin on his social media account after his recent return to the squad, something the Gills boss had a chuckle about during his post-Accrington press conference.
Coleman didn’t use any subs in the recent defeat at Newport, despite trailing 3-0 at the break, but he’s open to changing the team if the players chasing a spot put the effort in.
“You’ve got to bed teams in,” he said. “If you’re going to try and build a team going forwards, they’ve got to know each other.
“When you’re chopping and changing it’s virtually impossible. We were guilty of that early on so we’ve settled down a bit now.
“I must say the subs did well when they came on (at Accrington). Everyone had an impact on the game.
“Jacob Wakeling, considering he hasn’t kicked a ball in anger for the first team for probably three or four months. He came on, he looked lively, he looked a handful.
“He didn’t do himself any harm. Jacob’s a lovely lad as well, by the way. It’s been difficult for him, but he’s kept going. I like to see people who keep going get the rewards.
“[Elliott Nevitt] came on and did what Nev does. Unsettled their back three. Nelson [Khumbeni] was bright.
“Johnny [Williams] was springing up, winning headers down. Like a little jumping jack. Max [Ehmer] was very composed.
“That’s two weeks in a row now that the subs have made an impact. I know you leave yourself wide open when I didn’t make subs against Newport. There was a reason behind it.
“It’s pleasing when the whole squad is pulling in the right direction.”
