Gillingham manager Gareth Ainsworth will want to send the fans home with something to cheer about on Saturday at the end of a challenging season.
The Gills take on Ainsworth’s old team, Shrewsbury Town, at Priestfield, in a match between teams who occupy 18th and 19th places respectively, not where either club expected to be finishing.
Ainsworth is already planning a rebuild and will be keen to finish the League Two campaign on a high. With season tickets now on sale, the club will also hope for a morale-boosting win before the summer break.
“I want to sign off with a win,” Ainsworth said. “I still believe in what I do. I still believe in this team, this ownership, these players.
“It went off like a train [in the opening months]. Obviously, I wasn’t in for a period after that [due to a heart operation] and there’s been a lot of changes at the clubs. A lot of injuries.
“I’m not going to make excuses here. We haven’t been good enough.
“We haven’t defended well enough at times. We haven’t put the ball in the goal at times. We’ve tried just to come up short.
“But there’s been some positives, although they do seem quite far in the past here. I’m hoping the fans will appreciate that.”
Gillingham’s impressive start to 2025/26 saw them stretch their unbeaten run from the previous season to a club-record 21 games before a sharp decline in form.
Ainsworth said: “It’s like a game, isn’t it? You always remember the last 10 minutes. You never remember the first 80.
“This season we’re always going to remember post-Barrow perhaps, or Crewe, around that time. We got close to the play-offs. We were thinking, ‘Right, we could do it’ and then all of a sudden, we did get a lot of injuries. We did have various things that went against us.
“Twenty-one games unbeaten was probably a little bit bittersweet. Maybe I would have changed things earlier if we hadn’t gone on that run, but I’m so pleased and proud of the boys that went on that run.
“To have your names in history is great, and the fans were part of that as well. We’re remembering the last few months, when the first few months were so good. I intend to make all the months good next season. That’s the message.
“I want to try and finish with a win and try and give some positivity.
“We’re determined. Really determined. We want to win this.
“I want to send the fans who’ve followed us all season, and come here [to Priestfield] all season, home with some positivity.
“It’s been a challenging season, without a shadow of a doubt. People know that. Everyone knows that for one reason or another.
“What we’ve gone through has been really tough. It hasn’t been good enough but we give our best and that’s what we’re here to do.
“We can definitely sign off with a positive note. Hopefully next season will be a lot more positive than this one.”
Ainsworth gave up his job at Shrewsbury towards the end of last season for the chance to try and turn things around at Gillingham.
He doesn’t regret that move but accepts he may still get a bit of stick from the travelling fans this weekend following his switch.
“They’re good fans – they travel well,” he said of Shrewsbury. “They’ve had a resurgence of form since the new manager came in.
“They were stuck in some dodgy form at the start of the season. They’ve finished well. We know we’ll have a tough game.
“They were a great bunch of fans when I was there. They got right behind us and will obviously be coming down to support their team. These last away games always seem to attract a good travel. That’s great because the atmosphere will be good.
“I’d love to beat Shrewsbury. It’d be a good end to the season but no matter who’s coming to town, I want to beat them.
“These [Gillingham] fans deserve a good send-off. I want to put them right in the mood for the World Cup. There’ll be a buzz around that and there’ll be different faces in this place next season.”
Shrewsbury are expecting to have a sizeable turnout for the match at Priestfield and Ainsworth commented on being the pantomime villain – as he was in the 3-3 draw away there earlier this season.
“Shrewsbury was fantastic,” he said. “I enjoyed it. They got behind me. I loved it. But the chance to come back down closer to home was a big decision for me and hopefully they’ll respect that.
“They’re a big club. They’re a really well-run club. I’ve got a lot of respect for the chairman, Roland Wycherley. We remain friends and we shook hands up there when we had the 3-3 draw. That was great.
“[Shrewsbury fans] will probably give me some abuse. I got some stick there as well.
“I properly jumped in [as manager at Shrewsbury] after the QPR sacking and everything. They got me back into football and I can be forever thankful for that. It was tough. Shrewsbury is a long way away from most places and it was certainly a long way away from my family.
“I’m happy where I am. It’s now all Gillingham and I want it to be all Gillingham from Saturday’s 3pm kick-off to the start of next season going, ‘What can we do to improve this club?’”
Ainsworth said he expects defender Sam Gale and striker Seb Palmer-Houlden back after they missed last weekend’s match.
“The squad’s looking okay,” he said.
“I’ve got some bodies back. There’s a couple of touch and goes, late fitness tests.
“Cameron Antwi is out until next season as well and Euan Williams unfortunately, they’re slowly coming back, but not right for the start now.
“The big ones last week were losing Seb and Galey the day before the game. That was a real tough blow for me. They’re key players for us and hopefully both involved back in the squad on Saturday.”
