Gillingham manager Gareth Ainsworth on getting his team to bond now he’s taken over at Priestfield

Gillingham are back on their travels which gives the manager another chance to build on a key area of importance.

Gareth Ainsworth sees player bonding as a source of strength for his team, and with a trip to Salford this Saturday followed by a midweek game at Chesterfield, there’s plenty of time to get the groundwork in now as he looks ahead to next season.

Ainsworth said: “I remember when I played, I knew a lot about my team-mates and I'd go to the wall for my team-mates because I knew about their family, their friends, their histories.

“If you get those bonds, they are really the things that you want to play for. Sometimes you're like, ‘I'm in it with you because I know about you’.

“Some of the best bonds aren't football talk, it's different talks. On the training pitch, they have to do that, they're paid to do that. We're talking about connection, leadership, communication, but when they're off the pitch, if we can leave the players to bond and get to know each other, I think you get a real good team.

“I'm a big fan of the military sometimes and they really delve deep into each other and what they're about and mistakes from their teams. That’s life-threatening.

“Mistakes from our team and it's about not getting three points on a Saturday, but I still want that same connection between the players. I can't demand it but hopefully it'll come and it'll organically get stronger and stronger.

“There's little things we'll do which I keep in-house. We have little moments and development days, we call them. It's not football, it's different stuff and that bonds the players better, I believe.

“I've always believed that will create more success on the pitch.”

Ainsworth’s already observed the team during the trip to Harrogate and