Gillingham defender Sam Gale says boss Gareth Ainsworth’s motivation skills are making him feel as if he is invincible

Gillingham defender Sam Gale says manager Gareth Ainsworth makes him feel “invincible” on the pitch.

The homegrown 20-year-old has made an excellent start to the League 2 season, including a last-gasp winner to defeat leaders Crewe at Priestfield last weekend.

Ainsworth has been fulsome in his praise for Gale and the feeling is clearly mutual.

“The gaffer instils so much trust in me,” said Gale. “He does it with the other boys as well but I can speak for myself personally.

“The amount of belief he puts in me that I can do anything really on that football pitch and even though that’s not physically true, I can’t run for everyone and score, he makes you feel like you can.

“It’s an incredible feeling to have a manager and staff [like that]. It’s not just him, his whole staff, they all fill so much positivity inside you at the moment and it just makes you feel invincible, really.”

Gale has been tasked with man-marking roles in recent games, with Tranmere dangerman Omari Patrick and Crewe’s Tommi O’Reilly given close attention.

On-loan Aston Villa youngster O’Reilly proved a tricky customer for Gale, particularly after the Gills defender collected an early booking at the weekend.

“I tried not to let it creep into my game and, naturally, I’ve got to manage the best part of 90 minutes on a yellow card, especially in League 2 where players are clever and they’re trying to lure you in to get second yellows,” said Gale.

“I think their captain, when I did a little tug, was shouting at the ref because players in this league, they’re clever. Everyone’s trying to get the other team in trouble.

“It was a challenge. I think I grew into the game more. It’s not often I’ve had to do that, playing with a yellow card from early on, and it