Gillingham ready to renew rivalry with Swindon Town; Captain Stuart O'Keefe looks forward to the League 2 match at Priestfield

Gillingham captain Stuart O’Keefe is well aware of the club’s rivalry with Swindon Town and hopes the big match atmosphere will give them a boost.

The Gills and Swindon have long been rivals, since two bad tempered matches in the 1978/79 season led to player scuffles that were eventually argued over in court. It’s left bad feelings between the two sets of supporters ever since.

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O’Keefe played the last time the sides met, the Gills winning 3-1 at Swindon in March 2021. That game was played behind closed doors, however, during the Covid pandemic. The skipper and the players were given the lowdown on the rivalry by the manager before the latest instalment, which comes up later today (Saturday, 3pm).

O’Keefe said: “The gaffer has mentioned it, we are fully aware of what this game means, it is a derby, not geographically, but a derby for other reasons.

“We need to treat it like a proper derby and that will help us, it will help galvanise the group and the stadium, the fans, and hopefully come out on top, because it would be a needed win, we need to get up and running.

“Derbies create atmospheres and put a little bit extra on the game, with the position we are in, that might help us when we step over that white line, with that edge to it, it might make us a bit sharper and more aggressive and might help us get on the front foot and get a better result.

“We know how much this game means to the supporters, we need to make sure we put it out on the pitch and do them justice. As players we want to put in the best performance we can, to entertain and give the crowd something back, something to cheer.”

The Gills are badly in need of a lift, without a goal in their last six games and