Gillingham manager Gareth Ainsworth is ready to make some big changes in the summer after losing faith in many of his current players.
A run of four straight defeats has been an eye-opener for the manager, who is rarely critical of his players. But he has had to concede that some just aren’t good enough for him.
Ainsworth is a year into the job and coming towards the end of his first full season in charge. He’s hoping that he can get the type of players he wants this summer and that there will be better times ahead.
He said: “There are going to be some changes – there’s a lot of contracts up and I have to make changes.
“You play the cards you’ve got in your hand, and we played them really well at the start of the season, probably got away with a couple of wins. I’m glad we did because it gives us a cushion because the form has been relegation form since January, it’s been really bad form.
“The whole place just needs a change.
“There’s no bad people here, nobody means to do anything wrong, I think it just needs a change. A big change and I don’t want to call anyone out in a bad way, but some players are just not good enough, and I’ve got to change it.”
Ainsworth has assured fans – and the owners – that things will improve next season. It has to.
Not everyone has faith in a two-year plan, or Ainsworth, but the manager is convinced that if he is given the time to make the changes he wants, then things will improve.
He said: “You can’t not have faith in a two-year plan after one year. The two-year plan was for a reason, because we needed two years.
“I’m not saying by the way we’re going to win the league next year, but I always said at the start when I came in, we’ll be a different team, we’ll be a lot better than we are now and I took over at 19th in League 2.
“I’ll make a difference, I’ll improve this team and at the end of those two years, we’ll be a different team and people will go, ‘You know what, he did what he said’ and if I don’t, I’ll be out of here, I’m not stupid.
“If it doesn’t look like I’m going to do that, that’s football, but I back myself, I back my coaches and I back some players and some are going to have to get changed, and that’s football.
“I care about [the players] so much, but I just don’t think some of them are good enough for the way I want to play.
“They’re good enough for other people, the way other people want to play. They’re probably good enough and good enough in all different styles but what I want to do, I need my players in and I’ll do that.”
Ainsworth’s side lost 2-1 at Priestfield last Saturday to a Bristol Rovers outfit managed by ex-Gills boss Steve Evans.
The Gills have one of the biggest budgets in the division but Ainsworth knows he won’t have endless resources this summer.
The owners have already pumped in millions of pounds to try and keep the club competitive.
He said: “Steve Evans changed a hell of a lot of Bristol Rovers and he got backing, too, and there’s some teams that made big changes in January on money and things like that.
“We’ll do it, but it just has to be a little bit more subtle than just buying loads of players and spending loads of money. It’s not fair on the Galinsons, they’ve spent too much and not got results.
“We’re trying to do it in a way where it’s sustainable as well as successful and it’s tough but I’ve done it before and I think that’s why I’m in this position.”
Asked if he was expecting a busy summer, Ainsworth added: “Yes. I won’t be going on holiday too much!”
Gillingham travel to Crawley, who sit just a point above the relegation zone, on Saturday.
