Gillingham aren’t where they want to be in the league table but the club are still on the right path, according to managing director Joe Comper.
The Gills return to action this Saturday at home to lowly Newport County following two weeks without a game.
Their trip to Notts County a fortnight ago was postponed because of a frozen pitch and last weekend’s scheduled fixture against MK Dons had to be moved as their opponents were playing in the FA Cup, which took priority.
Gillingham head into the weekend sitting 16th in League 2, eight points outside the play-off places.
Manager Gareth Ainsworth has a two-year plan to get the Gills firing and, although there has been frustration over how things have gone so far, those in charge are keeping cool heads.
Comper said: “We’ve spoken a lot about the two-year plan, and there’s a document that exists that we wrote before Gareth came in, and we said ‘this is what we wanted to be’.
“There’s a lot of stuff in there that we’re achieving, more shots on goal, higher xG, more big chances created. All of those things that are clear, and fact, if you like, tick, we’re achieving those.
“There are a few things in there that are more opinion, about the sort of team we wanted to be, and I think we are seeing that, in terms of hard work, the endeavour.
“There’s things that we know might take longer to rectify and to improve, which we’re aware of, and that is why it was a two-year plan, not a one-year plan. That’s not a huge surprise.
“It’s disappointing to be 16th in the league, but I think we are seeing enough to say, ‘okay, we’re on course with the two-year plan’.
“I don’t think there’s any big shocks or big surprises from what we’re seeing.
“We’re still hopeful that we’ll get up the league [this season] as Gareth gets more time to be with his team, hopefully one or two tweaks in January.
“We’re still hopeful we end the season stronger than we currently are, but we certainly still believe in the project that we started.”
League 2 table;
Comper appreciates that after two seasons where the Gills have underachieved, another underwhelming campaign would be hard to stomach, particularly with a club that’s now funded with a competitive budget.
Ainsworth was appointed after a club reset following those seasons of disappointment. He had previously turned things around at Wycombe, having been given time to get things right.
Comper said: “I don’t think the fans want to see us chopping and changing managers and personnel all the time. We brought in a manager for a project. The project really is only just getting under way.
“I know people get sick of the project, and ‘trust the process’, but the fact is that’s what needs to happen, and that’s what we’re into.”
Comper is keen to state that Gillingham haven’t written this season off, with a shot at promotion still on the agenda.
He said: “Our two-year plan doesn’t rely on it this season, but we’re hoping for it. That’s in the document that exists, it says, ‘we hope we can get promoted this year’.
“That’s the exact wording on the document, because we think we’ve got enough in the building, we think we’ve got a squad that is good enough. I think we showed that, we went 21 games unbeaten, not too long ago.
“We’ve shown over a 21-game period we can do it. We now have 22 games left this season. If we show that over the same period, we’re there.
“We believe we’ve got enough in the building to do it, but Gareth’s job doesn’t rely on it. There’s nothing like that, we just need to be working towards something bigger and better.”
It’s a change from when chairman Brad Galinson first took charge, buoyed by their first half season at the helm where the Gills rose from the bottom of League 2 at the halfway stage to finish comfortably safe.
Survival was achieved by throwing money around but now it’s about a sustainable approach.
Mr Comper said: “The ambition remains the same, the Galinsons’ ambition remains the same, the Galinsons’ level of interest remains the same.
“I think how we are going about our business is completely different.
“It’s about the journey to get to the end result, rather than just talking about the end result.
“We had that big January transfer window, which we needed to do, to keep us up, great. The following summer it carried on the same vein, experienced players, older players, and from that point onwards it hasn’t worked.
“I came in [as managing director] just over 18 months ago, with a view of putting processes in place, putting plans in place, that are for the long term of the club, and it hasn’t happened as quickly as I had hoped, but it is happening.
“I truly believe it is happening, and hopefully we’ll have a strong second half of the season and people will all agree with me.
“We have to stick to a plan, and I think there’s a different attitude around the club. There isn’t a panic, there isn’t a, ‘oh gosh, we’re not doing well enough’. There isn’t that.
“There’s some bumps in the road but the attitude and the togetherness inside the building hasn’t changed.
“That hasn’t happened in the past, where we’ve hit bumpy times, you’ve felt like it starts to dismantle. It’s not happening this time.
“There’s a huge togetherness from the players, the manager, the owners. Everybody is very much pulling in the same direction and we need that regardless of the outside noise, everybody inside this building needs to be together, which they are, which is good.”
