Gillingham midfielder Robbie McKenzie looks ahead to Saturday’s visit of Tranmere Rovers after a midweek defeat at Notts County

Robbie McKenzie believes Gillingham can take plenty of encouragement from Tuesday’s defeat at Notts County as they prepare for a very different challenge this weekend.

County went second in League 2 after a 1-0 win over the Gills - a fifth straight win for them. This Saturday Gillingham welcome a Tranmere side who have lost their last five.

McKenzie expects their weekend visitors to pose a different kind of test to the one they just faced.

“I think it’s going to be a bit more physical, a bit more direct,” he said.

“I don’t think they’re going to try and pass the ball like [Notts County] do but we’ll be prepared for it.

“We just need to be brave in how we’re playing and trust what we’re doing.

“We’re obviously going to learn from our mistakes [on Tuesday] and we’re going to try and put them right. We’ll go into Saturday with a positive mindset.

“We’re coming into the business end of the season, so we need to start picking up results.”

With the campaign moving towards its decisive phase, McKenzie believes the Gills can still challenge at the top end.

He said: “It’s still just over half of the season gone.

“[We’ve made] positive additions. I feel like they’ve fit into the group well, so it can only send us in good stead.”

McKenzie felt their midweek performance showed signs of progress despite a costly mistake which led to County’s winner.

“We’ve played well. We’ve conceded a sloppy goal on our part, which we know and we’ve worked hard on that sort of thing,” he said.

“We’re making chances and we’re putting teams under pressure, which is what we want to do. It’s only going to stand us in good stead going forward.

“It’s a tough one to take, really, because I feel like the performances are getting there, apart from the first