Gillingham

Gillingham goalkeeper Ollie Wright has set a target of getting through at least two rounds in the FA Cup this season.

The League Two side have a home first-round tie on Saturday against National League club Barrow, who were relegated last season.

Southampton academy graduate Wright, 24, is on loan at Priestfield, having spent last season at fellow fourth-tier club Accrington Stanley.

He began his senior football career with loan spells in non-league at Bath, Worthing and Yeovil Town.

Wright told BBC Radio Kent: "Coming through non-league, it was massive - playing in National League South and the National League and getting drawn against a league team.

"I've never had the opportunity to go far. Even last season (with Accrington) we only got to the second round, so this year I at least want to get to the third round and get a big team away."

Accrington's exit in round two last season came in a penalty shoot-out against Mansfield, whose keeper Owen Mason proved the hero, and not Wright.

The Stags went on to reach the fourth round before losing 2-1 to Arsenal.

"I was a bit disappointed not going through, as I really wanted to reach round three. The Cup is still massive and I think my generation still appreciates the competition definitely," Wright added.

"It's great exposure, especially for myself as well, playing on TV in front of 30,000 people would be unbelievable, so we just want to be professional on the weekend, get through, and get a big team."

Gareth Ainsworth says he wants his Gillingham team to avoid the same FA Cup fate he once suffered as a player, when they take on Barrow in the first round on Saturday.

Ainsworth was part of the 2001 Wimbledon squad, then playing in the second tier, that lost on penalties in an FA Cup fifth-round replay to third-tier side Wycombe Wanderers.

This weekend, his Gills side, eighth in League Two, meet Barrow, ninth in the National League, and Ainsworth is wary of history repeating itself.

"I've been on the [right] end of a giant-killing, where I've been the killer," he told BBC Radio Kent.

"And I've also played at Wimbledon when Wycombe had their fantastic run in 2001. They beat us. It's a horrible feeling.

"The pressure is on us to beat Barrow but, believe me, the Conference [National League] and League Two are not too far apart. There's some fantastic teams in there.

"We'll have our work cut out, but I want to get into round two."

Gillingham boss Gareth Ainsworth has questioned whether some of his players are up to League Two standard after their 4-1 home defeat by Grimsby Town on Saturday.

It was the second time in the space of six months that they had lost to the Mariners at Priestfield by that exact scoreline.

The Gills are now 12th in the table, two points off the play-off places but also only five points above the relegation zone.

"They've put the ball in our goal four times and that's not acceptable at home," Ainsworth told BBC Radio Kent.

"I didn't see it coming, if I'm honest. At half-time. I thought we probably edged it.

"The second half - wow. The conditions worsened and we didn't deal with it well.

"We didn't deal with the first balls or the second balls, we got played round in midfield, our restarts were terrible, we got carved apart.

"They are committed [but] can some of them still reach the levels of this league? I've got to question it because you can't get carved apart like we did for those goals and expect to win games.

"We've got three months now of these conditions and teams are going to put it on us and bully us.

"I don't want to be that horrible, long ball, ugly team, but we might have to get a few players in who do that because you can't get bullied like that."

Gillingham boss Gareth Ainsworth says he believes he has the best squad in League Two.

The Gills won 4-1 at Rotherham United on Saturday to move fourth in the table.

But although they still lag three points behind leaders Salford City, Ainsworth was bullish about comparisons to the table-toppers.

"I feel I've got the best squad in the league. I'll say that outwardly now," he told BBC Radio Kent.

"Salford may have a lot money and spent it, but I think I've got this committed bunch that stay in games - and how many times have our subs made an impact?

"I want to play them all but I can only put 11 on the pitch."

Ainsworth credited his assistant manager Steven Craig, and first-team coach Peter Gill, for the half-time tactical tweak that saw Gillingham get on top in the game, having gone in level at 1-1.

"When I've got a million and one things going into my head, they're calmly thinking we should just drop a little bit and screen, rather than going all-out press," Ainsworth added.

"That worked a treat in the second half. We delayed our press a little bit and we took control again."

Gillingham midfielder James Brophy believes his side have put themselves into a good position in League Two after a decent start to the season.

The Gills are currently 10th in the table, taking 13 points from their opening nine matches.

In 2025-26, they sat top of the division after nine matches with six wins but later fell away to end up 17th.

Brophy arrived in the summer after helping Cambridge United achieve automatic promotion back to League One last season.

The 32-year-old told BBC Radio Kent it is a key period: "We've been hit with a number of injuries so sometimes it's been hard to find our rhythm.

"Generally as a team the patterns and the gelling has come together a lot more and we're starting to understand what 'good' looks like for us and trying to find consistency.

"We've got a real opportunity over this busy period in the next few weeks to try and make a good dent in the league and push ourselves as high up as we can."

Brophy has already scored three goals in this campaign, including two in their 4-1 win at Rochdale.

"Three goals in a month is very good number for me, but most importantly as a team we had a good month and put ourselves in a position where we can really attack the next set of games," he said.

Gillingham play five league games in the next 21 days and Brophy says he's enjoying drawing on his experience having notched up over 400 EFL appearances at Cambrige, Leyton Orient and Swindon.

"I like to think I'm one the youngest of the older ones," he added. "It's nice to be able to pass things on, being one of the more experienced ones.

"We've got a good leadership group in the changing-room so I don't have to be the most vocal one.

"We have a lot of younger players who have a really high ceiling, a lot of individual ability and it's just for us to try and get them to consistently show that, become better players and reach their potential."

The Gills visit Rotherham on Saturday (15:00).

Image source, Shutterstock

Hartlepool United have signed defender Max Clark on a deal running until January.

Clark, 30, was a free agent after leaving Gillingham, where he had played more than 100 games, in the summer.

His career has taken him around the EFL as well as spending almost three years in the Netherlands with Vitesse Arnhem.

He is the second player signed by head coach Pete Wild after midfielder Jack Earing and is available for Saturday's trip to Forest Green Rovers (17:30 BST).

Gillingham boss Gareth Ainsworth says he believes some opponents in League Two are "fearing" visits to Priestfield Stadium.

The Gills were held to a goalless draw by Newport County on Saturday, after impressing in wins over Bristol Rovers and Tranmere Rovers in their previous two home league games.

"I think the teams that are probably looking at surviving in the league are going to come here and shut up shop," Ainsworth told BBC Radio Kent.

"[They will say] let's stop Gillingham doing what they do, because everyone is now looking at us going, the way you're playing, you're good at home.

"I wanted Priestfield to be this place and now they're fearing it.

"That's the first step. Let's get the second step and start scoring some goals here."

Ainsworth added: "Newport have come and sat in. They've changed their style, they've gone five at the back and denied all the space in behind and sat in their half.

"It's tough to break a team down like that, but what we have to do is take it as a massive compliment."

Gillingham boss Gareth Ainsworth has said experienced striker Tom Eaves will give his side a different type of option up front.

The 34-year-old re-signed for Gillingham earlier this week, having scored 40 goals in his previous two-season spell at the club before leaving for Hull City in 2019.

Ainsworth told BBC Radio Kent: "He's definitely somebody who will be feared in League Two.

"He scored 10 goals last season [for Northampton, then in League One] and has had a really good career of Championship games.

"Gillingham was the best spell of his career and we hope that continues."

Speaking before Saturday's game against Newport County (15:00 BST), Ainsworth said Eaves is fit but not quite fully match fit.

"He gives us something that is different to the style we've been employing and that's nice to have," added the former Wycombe, QPR and Shrewsbury boss.

"His size alone will put fear into defenders, never mind the way he can score goals and win headers, and he's more mobile than people think.

"I'm very happy to have him but very happy where we are in the league with the group we've started the season with."

Gillingham boss Gareth Ainsworth says potentially losing deadline day signing Eli King to a knee injury would be "a big blow".

King, brought in from Cardiff City, was forced off 31 minutes into the Gills' 3-0 League Two defeat at York City on Saturday.

He will be assessed to check the extent of the injury.

"It's a twist with no one near him and that can be concerning for somebody who's had a knee injury before, so we'll have a look at that," Ainsworth told BBC Radio Kent after the game.

"He's not on crutches, he's walking over clapping the fans at the end which is positive.

"Losing Eli was huge for us. It's a big blow, he's been fantastic for us and the way we play."

It was the second substitution Ainsworth had to make in the defeat at York, after Will Goodwin went off in the 19th minute.

"We'll have a game soon where no one will get injured. I don't know if we've had one, but it doesn't feel like it," he said.

Ainsworth added that Nottingham Forest loanee Lamin Sillah missed the match to observe concussion protocols after sustaining a "bang on the head" in training, but would return soon.