Gillingham defender Sam Gale says manager Gareth Ainsworth makes him feel “invincible” on the pitch.
The homegrown 20-year-old has made an excellent start to the League 2 season, including a last-gasp winner to defeat leaders Crewe at Priestfield last weekend.
Ainsworth has been fulsome in his praise for Gale and the feeling is clearly mutual.
“The gaffer instils so much trust in me,” said Gale. “He does it with the other boys as well but I can speak for myself personally.
“The amount of belief he puts in me that I can do anything really on that football pitch and even though that’s not physically true, I can’t run for everyone and score, he makes you feel like you can.
“It’s an incredible feeling to have a manager and staff [like that]. It’s not just him, his whole staff, they all fill so much positivity inside you at the moment and it just makes you feel invincible, really.”
Gale has been tasked with man-marking roles in recent games, with Tranmere dangerman Omari Patrick and Crewe’s Tommi O’Reilly given close attention.
On-loan Aston Villa youngster O’Reilly proved a tricky customer for Gale, particularly after the Gills defender collected an early booking at the weekend.
“I tried not to let it creep into my game and, naturally, I’ve got to manage the best part of 90 minutes on a yellow card, especially in League 2 where players are clever and they’re trying to lure you in to get second yellows,” said Gale.
“I think their captain, when I did a little tug, was shouting at the ref because players in this league, they’re clever. Everyone’s trying to get the other team in trouble.
“It was a challenge. I think I grew into the game more. It’s not often I’ve had to do that, playing with a yellow card from early on, and it does change the way you play, especially for someone like me who wants to be on the front foot and get stuck in.
“He was a tricky winger, he’s a good player for them so it took a little bit of adapting.
“But I thought second half, as a team, we protected ourselves a lot more and I didn’t really get exposed in a situation where I risked picking up a second yellow.”
Gale’s special man-marking missions have meant he’s been utilised across the defensive line.
Read more: Ainsworth says Gale can go a long way
It’s a role that brings its own challenges, but it also shows how much faith Ainsworth has in the young defender.
“It’s a big compliment,” said Gale. “It’s a different challenge in possession because obviously on the left side, I’m playing off my left foot predominantly and on the right side, obviously off my right foot.
“But out of possession, I look at it the same. The last couple of weeks I’ve been tasked with dealing with a specific player or a specific area of the pitch and that’s no different either side of the pitch.
“I back my abilities against anyone to come out better.
“It’s interesting. Obviously, I’m combining with different players on one side of the pitch but I’m enjoying it and I’m comfortable anywhere across the back line, really.”
Gale didn’t even start the season in Ainsworth’s first XI as an injury limited his gametime in pre-season. But the absence of Conor Masterson and Shad Ogie in the first month of the campaign has presented an opportunity that he’s grabbed with both hands.
“It was really frustrating,” admitted Gale. “I picked up a little knock in pre-season that kept me out towards the back end of [pre-season].
“So I knew I was in a race against time to get myself not fit enough, but up to match speed, because going into the season, the most I’d played was 45 minutes.
“I mentally prepared myself that you’re probably going to start the season on the bench or not in the squad, whatever it was. I just had to kind of bide my time.
“The gaffer says it all the time, it’s a squad game and it changes like that. Conor and Shad started the season. Unfortunately, they’ve both picked up injuries and five games in, the back three is looking like me, Robbie McKenzie and Andy Smith.
“You wouldn’t have predicted that three, four weeks ago. It just goes to show how important us being strong as a squad is and being together.
“Josh Andrews started the season not playing, he’s played the last three games. Everyone needs to play a part and we are doing it really well.”
