Gillingham assistant boss Richard Dobson has limited options in attack ahead of League 2 match against Cheltenham Town

Gillingham’s attacking options have taken a hit ahead of their match against a rejuvenated Cheltenham Town this weekend.

The Gills were missing attacking players Bradley Dack, Garath McCleary and Jonny Smith last Saturday and weekend goalscorer Seb Palmer-Houlden is also a doubt now for their next League 2 match.

Assistant boss Richard Dobson admits they are missing some quality players.

“We’re short on numbers at the moment,” he said.

“We’re short on good players, really good players who would be in our first XI, and that’s a bit of a loss for us.

“We need to get through it, and we need everybody pulling in the same direction.

“I ask the fans on Saturday to get behind us and help us through this period.”

Palmer-Houlden pulled out of their midweek EFL Trophy game after feeling a potential problem in his knee.

Cheltenham head into the weekend sitting third from bottom in League 2 but they won last weekend after reappointing former manager Steve Cotterill - a man who previously led the club to three promotions and into the Football League.

He took charge after former Gills player Michael Flynn got the sack in the wake of a 7-1 loss to Grimsby. Cheltenham won 2-0 against Fleetwood last weekend and head to Priestfield with renewed belief.

The Gills were beaten at Colchester in midweek and have lost their last two games in the league.

Dobson’s hoping a home match can give them the lift they need.

“I love playing at Priestfield,” he said.

“We need the fans behind us. We’ve been hit with injuries all of a sudden, so we’re a little bit short, which obviously affected our choice [on Tuesday] and the players that played.

“We’ll have a look at what damage has been done [against Colchester] on the injury front and obviously the GPS