Gillingham manager Gareth Ainsworth backs his squad over any other in League Two this season

Gareth Ainsworth believes he has the best squad in League 2 – and says Gillingham’s togetherness is a major reason why they are keeping pace with the promotion contenders.

The Gills climbed to fourth in the table after an impressive 4-1 win at Rotherham last Saturday, extending their strong start despite ongoing injury issues.

Ainsworth has had to contend with a host of senior players missing through injury but insists the depth of commitment within his squad is proving a difference, with substitutes regularly coming on to make an impact.

And while he acknowledges the financial backing available to some of their rivals, the Gillingham boss believes his group has something special.

He said: “I feel I’ve got the best squad in the league; I’ll say that out loud now.

“Salford may have a lot of money and spent that, but I think I’ve got this committed bunch that when we stay in games and we make changes during games, how many times have our subs made an impact?

“That’s a really good thing to have on the bench and I want to play more but I can only put 11 on the pitch.”

The Gills have had to rely on younger players like Logan Dobbs, Harry Waldock and Conor McManus to cope with the injuries that have been a problem for Ainsworth since the start of pre-season.

He said: “We’re bare bones at the moment by the way, there were only four fit players left [out last Saturday] and they were three first-year pros and Sulli Booth. Everyone else has just picked a knock up here and there.

“I’m going to have some serious problems coming up but when all of those injured boys are going, ‘yes’ [after a win] that’s what we’ve got here. I think other teams and sometimes, in my past days, people have been going, ‘oh, they’ve won, that means I