Gillingham’s fixtures for the League 2 season will be released on Wednesday morning – Carabao Cup first round draw takes place on Thursday

Gillingham are a day away from finding out their football fixtures for the new season.

The EFL’s ‘fixture release day’ this Wednesday morning at 9am is an exciting one for fans as anticipation for a new season ahead builds.

By the end of the week, the Gills will know where they start and finish their regular League 2 campaign and who they will play in both the Carabao Cup and EFL Trophy - now rebranded as the Bristol Street Motors Trophy.

The opening day in League 2 is on Saturday, August 10. Gillingham started last season’s campaign with a 1-0 win at eventual champions Stockport County.

Sky Sports’ new broadcast deal gives fans the chance to watch the opening-day match from the comfort of their home. Judging by the record season-ticket sales at Priestfield, the first match of the campaign at ME7 is sure to be well attended.

And as with last year, there is sure to be heightened expectation, which new boss Mark Bonner accepts comes with the territory.

“There is an expectation but we can’t hide away from it,” said the Gills boss.

“We could put it in a drawer and never talk about it or we could say, ‘people expect us to win and be good, so let’s have the character and personality (from the players) to embrace it and try and do it.’”

It will be the second full season for chairman Brad Galinson and he can’t wait.

The Gills finished in a disappointing 12th place last season, which cost previous manager Stephen Clemence his job. He’s since joined fellow League 2 side Barrow as manager there.

Commenting on last season, Mr Galinson said: “I kind of thought ‘of course we will get promoted’ but you have to earn it. You have to get it right and when you have to do it again it feels better as you get better.

“This is a tough sport,