'It's definitely a work in progress at the moment': A closer look at Blackpool's next league opponents Gillingham

The Gills, like the Seasiders, have opened their 2020/21 league account with a defeat and a victory.

Having suffered an opening day 2-0 loss at home to Hull City, Gillingham bounced back with a hard-earned 3-2 win against Wigan Athletic last weekend.

The Gazette caught up with Luke Cawdell, Gillingham FC reporter for Kent Online, to find out how Steve Evans’ side are shaping up ahead of Saturday’s game.

Gillingham have started the season with a defeat and a win, just like Blackpool, but how have they looked in their opening two league games?

It’s definitely work in progress at the moment for the Gills and they’ve been rocked by a few injuries, including newly installed captain Kyle Dempsey (out 5-6 weeks ankle) and the vice skipper Stuart O’Keefe (broken leg, out for the season). Both play in central midfield and added valuable experience to a very young team. The average age at Stoke City in the Carabao Cup last night was 22 and that included John Akinde upfront, the old man of the team at 31! Hull City on the opening day was a tough start and Wigan away wasn’t easy either, against a much-changed side but with much quality still in their ranks. It was a definite improvement at Wigan. There are some good young up and coming players in the Gills team, they will make mistakes, but when they are on song they may just surprise a few this season.

- Has there been much player turnover over the summer? How is the squad shaping up heading towards the October transfer deadline?

Yes, there’s been quite a major overhaul. There were just seven players on contract after the break and the Gills lost a few like captain Max Ehmer and promising striker Brandon Hanlan (both heading to Bristol Rovers) while Mikael Mandron went to Crewe. Gillingham held off on any contract offers until the season start date was known, so they’ve been playing catch up, but they have been extremely busy. Striker Dominic Samuel arrived this week on a free and he was the 13th signing of the summer. Evans hopes to have a squad of around 20, relying on quality over quantity. Teenager Scott Robertson from Celtic looks a class act, Jacob Mellis is former Chelsea, while fellow midfielder Trae Coyle is on loan from Arsenal. Wide-man Jordan Graham (ex-Wolves) has looked good and got three goals already.

- What are the ambitions for the club this season? Is there a belief the club can push for the play-offs under Steve Evans?

A 10th place finish was a relief to everyone last season under Steve Evans after so many years of battling against the drop. There is much belief and hope now that the club can battle in the top half, even if they aren’t big hitters in the division. Evans’ contacts in the game have proved vital in getting many of the deals over the line which have really got the fans hoping they can have a chance of competing for a play-off place. All depends on keeping a small squad injury-free though.

- Are there any injury doubts ahead of the game?

As mentioned, Dempsey and O’Keefe are already out. In the week they played 18-year-old keeper Joe Walsh as regular stopper Jack Bonham twinged his back. Bonham will be a doubt for the weekend and Walsh could make his first league appearance. The club have high hopes for the teenager and he played well at Stoke but they might look to make an emergency loan as they have no other goalkeeper cover. Midfielder Matty Willock went off with a tight hamstring and he’s another doubt. They might not be able to fill the bench at the weekend but should be able to give Dominic Samuel his debut upfront, which will be a boost. He arrived on a free after leaving Blackburn Rovers in the summer.