Gillingham head coach Stephen Clemence expects the passion off the pitch to be replicated on it tonight. Clemence knows any meeting with Swindon Town is a big deal for the Gillingham fans as the long-running rivalry has continued since 1979.
The Gills will be looking to build on their win at Notts County on Friday night and ahead of Swindon’s visit, he said: “There is a rivalry there, I don’t know when it goes back to, but I have heard about it, I know the supporters will be passionate about it and I can assure them we will be passionate about the game as well. “We will be going out to beat Swindon on Tuesday night, it will be a tough game, they have changed their system in the last couple of games with the new manager. “It’s a big game for us, when you win away from home, if you can back it up with a home win you really start seeing progress in the table, if you do that five or six times a season then you’ll be at the right end of the table. “There is no point all being happy about the one (on Friday) if we go and draw and get beaten against Swindon. “As a group we have a (points) tally that we want to get to in our heads and minds and think if we can get to that then we will be where we want to be, we’ll keep that private, but (Friday) was a step in the right direction. “I was really proud of the boys, they were absolutely fantastic, I have enjoyed working with them ever since I came in, they want to win, they want to be successful, they want to learn, it is nice that we are starting to put some results together now.” Gillingham’s stay in the top seven didn’t last long as they slipped back to ninth in League 2 on Saturday.