Gillingham’s work rate pleased boss Gareth Ainsworth more than anything after Tuesday night’s win over Millwall.
His side worked tirelessly to keep Championship opponents Millwall relatively quiet and came away with a 1-0 win.
Report: Gills 1 Millwall 0
Ainsworth said: “I thought the work rate from all the boys, the ones who started the game, the ones who finished the game, was really good.
“It’s something I’m asking for this season. I think we need to work and work and work really hard to be successful. I’ll make sure that that happens. They won’t play if they don’t work hard and run.
“There are reasons to be positive, definitely. We enjoyed that. We knew that the two games against Charlton and Millwall that we’d be out of possession. We’d planned to be without the ball.
“It was an ideal time to work without the ball in the couple of weeks building up to that and the boys have got together and nailed some of the structures that I wanted, which is great.”
The 1-0 win wasn’t particularly important to the manager.
“Results don’t mean anything,” he said.
“It’s nice. It’s a positive feeling and great for Will Goodwin to score as well in a home game and some really, really positive signs from a lot of people.
“I’m pleased with the result but it’s one of the games where I can just put the results to the side and go, ‘Pleased with the performance’. Some really good individual moments and there’s stuff to work on, as always. All in all, a good night.
“The [Millwall manager] Alex Neil is a top guy and I’m glad there was no injuries on either side.”
For Ainsworth, pre-season is as much about players learning about each other as the results.
He said: “I’m hoping that the players learn about each other and learn that when they all run and we all work so hard like they did, they’re going to get results.
“I know what I’ve signed. I know what I’ve got in the building and it’s nice when it comes together but this is a pre-season friendly.
“Millwall probably were 70% and you’ve got to respect that team. They nearly got to the Premier League last year. We will face some tough teams in League Two. We’ll be with the ball. We’ll be without the ball.
“Set-pieces we haven’t really touched on yet. We need to get them going, which we will in the next couple of weeks and then, as I said, the Luton Town [Carabao Cup] game is brilliant for me.
“We can make use of that. It’s not a trial run. I want to win the game, like I’ve said. But it’s almost like, ‘Right, any mistakes can be ironed out for that first league game’.”
