Gillingham manager Gareth Ainsworth on dropping Sam Gale to the bench and his impact off it as Watford loanee Travis Akomeah gets his chance to shine

Manager Gareth Ainsworth has a tried-and-tested method for getting the best out of young players, which he hopes will work for Sam Gale.

Gale came off the bench for Gillingham on Saturday, after the manager opted to leave him out of the starting eleven for the first time in the league since the opening weeks of the season.

The young defender’s role in the team has changed in recent weeks, with Gills boss Ainsworth moving him from central defence to right-back, but at the weekend, he was replaced in the XI by Remeao Hutton.

In the middle, Ainsworth picked young loan signing Travis Akomeah to partner recent addition Omar Beckles, who looks set to be the anchor for his defence going forward.

“Everyone loves Sam Gale because he's a local lad and he's come through the academy,” said the Gills boss.

“But he's still so young, he's still learning, and it's really important that we don't overload him and kill him.

“Sam, I thought, was just in the little washing machine, I call it, just a little bit in the last few games.

“It's important for us as a coaching staff to spot that and then bring someone out and then put them back in. We think we're getting them back like that.

“We've done it with all our young players over the years. I think that Sam's got a heck of a future and played a big part in that second-half performance [on Saturday].”

Gale came on for the Gills as Ainsworth switched to a back five, with the young defender helping to keep Tranmere Rovers at bay as the visitors looked for a late equaliser.

Last month, 20-year-old centre-back Akomeah agreed on a new loan deal from Watford for the remainder of the season, having only appeared on a handful of occasions during the first half of the campaign.

He’s looked assured at