Gillingham manager Gareth Ainsworth says he’s not sure he has enough players suited for the cut and thrust of League 2 football as he considers tactical reset after Grimsby Town defeat

Manager Gareth Ainsworth was left questioning whether some of his players are good enough for League 2 - and if he needs to change his tactics - after Gillingham’s heavy loss to Grimsby Town.

The Gills slumped to a 4-1 home defeat at Priestfield as Ainsworth’s men lost their way during a disappointing second-half performance on Saturday.

Ainsworth had hoped to make Priestfield a fortress this season, building the foundations for a promotion push.

Instead, hundreds of Gills fans left early, while many of those who stayed booed the team off at full-time.

It is not how the season was supposed to be unfolding in Ainsworth’s second full campaign in charge, and the manager is now facing some difficult questions.

“They are committed but whether some of them can still reach the levels of this league is questionable,” stated Ainsworth.

“I’ve got to question it, because that was something I didn’t see coming. You can’t get carved apart like we did for those goals and expect to win games.

“We’ve got months now of these conditions and these weathers and teams are going to put it on us and bully us.

“I don’t want to be that horrible, long-ball, ugly team, but we might have to get a few players in who do that, because you can’t get bullied like that.

“It was tough to watch and I feel for the fans but it’s football and we’ve got to put it right.

“We’ve got a big game up at Shrewsbury [on Saturday] and they’ll be no mugs, either.

“We’ll have to be fighting and scrapping, get the fundamentals right first, forget the playing, [it’s about] the fighting, the scrapping, the winning tackles and winning headers and getting your throw-ins right and all that sort of stuff before you even think about the nice passing.”

Since winning 4-1 at