Gillingham’s manager expects to be given the chance to rebuild the squad this summer – but it’s not the only thing that needs fixing.
A turgid season has left many fans questioning whether Gareth Ainsworth is the right man to oversee a summer rebuild and lead the Gills into a new campaign.
Repairing the damaged relationship with the fans will be another challenge for the Gills boss.
Heavy defeats in the last two games have further damaged fan faith. Ainsworth has been given a two-season remit to turn things around but the first year hasn’t gone well.
“I know there’s an element [that] probably want change,” he said.
“They probably want change within the whole squad, me included. That’s out of my hands.
“I’ll take all the stick in the world, because I know deep down I do my best. If mine’s not good enough, somebody will do something about that. The players, if theirs isn’t good enough, I’ve got to do something about that. That’s what it is.
“My contract is for another year. I want another year because I want to show what I can do with the players that I bring in.”
Gillingham fans will be waiting eagerly after Saturday to see who Ainsworth wants to keep and who he is going to release or try and move on.
A new contract for Bradley Dack was a positive move for the club, as they look to boost season tickets for next season, but results can’t be helping with the figures.
Ainsworth’s key January recruit Ronan Hale has been another plus for the manager, with goals and the kind of committed displays the fans love to see.
The manager said: “I’m hoping with some of the signings I’ve made, Ronan Hale, Garath McCleary and [people like] that, you’re seeing a little bit of extra quality.
“There’s not enough of it. There is some here, and there are some boys here who are good enough.
“There’s some spatterings, but there’s not enough. When we lose players to injury, there’s way not enough to back it up. Not a chance.
“We have to make wholesale changes here. That’s not just the playing squad. That’s the training methods.
“That’s me looking at myself. That’s all the staff and everyone.
“What I will say is that the staff at the club are fantastic. They sell commercial. They get fans through the door. They put on a great occasion on a Saturday. That side of things is brilliant but the football side hasn’t been good enough and I apologise for that because I want to reach everyone’s standards.
“Fans have been brilliant. We’ll make it better. Hopefully, I get the time to do that.
“We need to get robust players in here, fit players in here, leaders, men, warriors, people who can defend, people who can attack, quick players.
“We need so much here. I know that. I just want the chance to be able to do it because it’s been a tough club to turn around. I’m hoping I’m the man to do it.”
Ainsworth’s final game this season is against his former club, Shrewsbury Town, the side he left the Gills for towards the end of last season.
“It doesn’t matter who we’re playing next week,” he said.
“I want to win that game because at home, I want to say to the fans, we are semi-good enough. Let me bring some extra in and we’ll be seriously good enough. At the moment, that [6-2 loss on Saturday at Barnet] was nowhere near.
“Our levels aren’t good enough. We’ve known that. I’ve said it for years about this club. It’s not just this season. It’s been previous seasons.
“We must be better. We must find a way to make our best better. If it can’t get any better, I have to go elsewhere to find it. That’s what I’m going to have to do for a lot of positions in the summer. There’s going to be a big turnaround. We’re looking now.
“All I worry about is people not wanting to come to Gillingham because we get battered sometimes. But then, when you see those fans, they turn up and I’m sure that people would love to play in front of those fans, that amount, that noise.”
That noise hasn’t always been of a positive nature in recent months – mainly focused on the players’ shortcomings – but Ainsworth said: “Give [me] all the stick you want. It’s a scrap. I’ll scrap out of it. I always do. I’ll come out winning.
“I’ve not lost many fights. I’m not going to lose this one. Me making that squad better is a fight, a huge fight. I’m in that.”
