Gillingham boss Gareth Ainsworth says play-off picture can change but admits season at risk of becoming stagnant if they keep dropping points

Gillingham manager Gareth Ainsworth says he doesn’t want the season to fizzle out but promotion is already looking like a long shot.

Back-to-back defeats at Crewe and Chesterfield in the space of four days have left the Gills sitting 11 points outside the play-off places and facing the prospect of mid-table mediocrity once again.

Matches against Oldham, Barrow and Fleetwood in their next three fixtures give them the chance to start amassing some points but, with 15 games left, wins are a must.

Commenting on their play-off hopes, Ainsworth said: “It was a dream at one stage. Obviously, we need to pick up now and make sure we don’t end up in just mediocrity, the season fizzling out.

“We never get blown away. We never get hammered. The Bromley game looks bad [losing 4-1], but actually, you look into the game and, wow, we were right in it. Their keeper gets the man-of-the-match.

“The keeper gets man-of-the-match on Saturday against Crewe.

“We’ll pick ourselves up. We go again - 11 points are 11 points. It can change really quickly, this game. I know that. But I’m not about to say, ‘Yeah, we’re definitely going to get in the play-offs’.

“We’ll do our best to finish as high as we can in the league and see where that is.”

Oldham are the visitors to Priestfield this Saturday. They’re two points behind the Gills with a game in hand.

It’s a game the hosts should be looking to win but Ainsworth isn’t putting any pressure on his players.

He said: “There is no pressure here to win games. There is on me, but not on the players.

“I don’t want the players to feel pressure. I think they’ve felt it way too much at Priestfield.

“All I’m going to say to those players is ‘go out there, we’ll give you a framework, give everything’.

“I know