Gillingham outsiders could be set for a look-in this weekend as manager Gareth Ainsworth prepares to make changes following last Saturday’s home loss.
The Gills hit a new low last weekend, succumbing to a 3-0 defeat to Oldham Athletic at Priestfield, a loss that all but ended any outside chances of making the play-offs. Defeat left them sitting 16th in the League 2 table.
Ainsworth had picked the same 18 players in his matchday squad for four consecutive games, but a run of three straight losses, culminating in a big home defeat, could be an opportunity for others to now stake their claim.
“There’ll be changes, definitely,” vowed Ainsworth after their latest setback.
“There’s one or two that I think will understand if they’re not involved because I have players, six really, that have not been involved for a while. They want to get back involved and show what they can do, and rightly so.
“It’s definitely opened up for somebody to come in and stake a claim.”
Gillingham are away to relegation-threatened Barrow this Saturday.
The Gills let striker Marcus Wyllie go out on loan to join Ebbsfleet so he’s out of the reckoning but young left-sided player Lenni Cirino could finally get a chance.
Cirino, 23, hasn’t featured since playing for half an hour in the 3-3 draw at Shrewsbury in late November. He’s been fit for several weeks and will be keen to show what he can do after extending his contract in January until the end of the season.
Aaron Rowe will hope to get a recall to the squad now that he’s the last winger standing. Ainsworth’s other out-and-out wide-men are now injured, with Jonny Smith likely to miss the rest of the season and Garath McCleary limping off last weekend.
Attacking midfielder Euan Williams has yet to play this season, held back by injuries before the turn of the year. The closest he’s been was as an unused substitute at Harrogate a month ago.
Jonny Williams has been seen in training but hasn’t been near to playing in the first team for some time. He hasn’t been involved since starting against Swindon on New Year’s Day.
Defender Shad Ogie is another who has been left out for some time. His last outing was at Colchester in early December.
This could be the last chance for all of them. If they can’t get in now, perhaps they never will.
Elsewhere, recent signing Cameron Antwi has yet to start. He’s made four appearances off the bench and now could be the time he’s handed a role from the off.
Ainsworth hinted as such, saying: “Cameron came on [last Saturday] and showed a couple of good touches and he needs a start, definitely.
“There’s one or two probably sitting in that group underneath now who may come in and win games. They may come in and make a positive impact in the team.”
The Gills have faced plenty of criticism since that loss to Oldham. Much of that frustration has come from several seasons of underachievement, which looks set to extend for another term.
Ainsworth knows he has work to do to win back favour, with some questioning whether he’s the right man.
Following that weekend loss, he said: “I agree it wasn’t good enough. I’ll put it right.
“For as long as I’m here, I want to be sure that the performances are good enough on a Saturday and a Tuesday night and that was way short.
“I don’t want to see any more of what I saw [last Saturday]. That was poor.“We can’t have days like that and expect to be successful at this football club. So I’m hoping they’re few and far between.”
