Gillingham manager Gareth Ainsworth hopes to gain something from the defeat at York City as they prepare for Newport County at home this Saturday

Gillingham boss Gareth Ainsworth hopes last weekend’s defeat at York City will prove a valuable learning experience for him and his players.

The Gills were soundly beaten 3-0, ending a run of three successive victories.

Ainsworth’s men endured a difficult afternoon, with injuries to Will Goodwin and Eli King, a red card for Zane Albarus and some sloppy defending contributing to their defeat.

“Hopefully we’ll be better for it,” said Ainsworth, as he looked to take something from a poor outing.

“As long as the boys learn and I’ll certainly look at myself and learn.

“It was a tough one and we’ve all got to learn from it.

“The players will learn and there were some young boys in that team at the end.

“I think one or two mistakes were made for goals and things like that. And they’ll all learn from that. That’s positive.

“I’ll have a look at myself and think, could I have done any better? Obviously, I picked a team that got beat. So maybe picking a different team would have been the thing.

“But you don’t expect the injuries and the sending-off.”

Ainsworth’s side slipped back to eighth in the table and face Newport County at home this Saturday.

He said: “We’ve just got to make sure that [this] week, we’re looking at beating Newport at home.

“I want to keep Priestfield a good hunting ground, just like York is for York, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

It’s the first game in October, a month that has in recent seasons heralded the start of a decline in form. Fans will hope this time it’s different.

With Neil Harris at the helm in 2023/24, the Gills won six of their first 10 games but he was sacked following a defeat in their first match in October at Crewe, a result which saw them drop from top spot to eighth.

Stephen Clemence