Gillingham boss Gareth Ainsworth has issued a stark warning to his players about their futures.
Ainsworth’s side slumped to a fifth successive defeat at the weekend when they were beaten 2-0 at Crawley Town on Saturday.
That poor form has piled the pressure on a squad that has failed to get anywhere close to pre-season expectations. They head into the Easter weekend sitting 17th in the League Two table.
A month later and the season will be done and dusted, one that won’t be remembered favourably. For many players, their time at the Gills will be over, and they’ll be looking for new clubs to take them on.
Ainsworth has reminded them of the realities of the professional game.
“Listen, they’re in a great place. They’re professional footballers,” he said.
“But believe me, when you go in that mix in the summer, there’s about 2,000 people out of work all looking for clubs.
“You’ve got to perform. You’re always on show. No matter what it is, they’re all playing for their futures.”
The manager’s comments underline the growing urgency at Priestfield, with results failing to match expectations and the end of the season approaching.
Those who are out of contract this summer include both senior goakeepers, Conor Masterson, Lenni Cirino, Jonny Williams, Euan Williams, Bradley Dack, Max Clark, Shad Ogie, Garath McCleary, Marcus Wyllie and Sam Vokes.
Of the seven players released by the Gills last season, Oli Hawkins (Barnet) was the only one to stay in the Football League.
Ainsworth has already admitted that some of the players currently on their books just aren’t good enough for him. He’s tried different approaches to get them in the right frame of mind.
Last week’s training was done with the pressure off – but the losing run goes on.
Ainsworth said: “I’m not a manager who puts pressure on the boys anyway, but I totally took the pressure off them [last] week and said, ‘Right, let’s have a bit of freedom.
“We played with a little bit more freedom [at Crawley]. We played at times. I think we were very one-dimensional in [previous] games, so we tried to play a little bit more.
“We have had some good days in training. We’ve worked really hard again, but for some reason, we come up short again. Maybe we’ll have to change something else now, but we’ll try.”
With confidence low and results hard to come by, the Gills now face a crucial period where performances – and futures – are on the line.
Ainsworth has had the backing from the owners to keep working towards a two-year plan, despite a run of just five wins since the end of September, and he’s trying to stay upbeat.
“I’m not going to let it get me down, not a chance,” he said.
“I’ve been down this season already. I have to say I’m getting used to this, and that’s not good.
“We’ll work on what we can do better, as we do every single week, and then we’ve got to try and find a way of winning again, because this is becoming ridiculous now.
“Like I say, I’m not going to let this get me down. There are a lot more things in the world that will get you down rather than losing the game away from home at Crawley.”
