Gillingham’s new manager John Coleman on players working hard for the club and a warning for those that won’t

Gillingham manager John Coleman won’t put up with players who don’t want to work hard.

Prior to the appointment of Coleman, some fans had accused players of not putting in the effort needed. Chants of “you’re not fit to wear the shirt” have been heard during a tough recent period that led to the sacking of Mark Bonner.

New boss Coleman will be hoping to build bridges now he’s taken over from Bonner. He’ll make his own judgement on the players but there’ll be no room for those who don’t want to try.

Coleman said: “There's no guarantee you can deliver results in football. There's lots of things that can go wrong on a day that's out of your control but one thing that are in your control is you can fight for every ball, you can play on the front foot, you can play attacking football. They're in your remit and that's what we're trying to do.

“If you don't want to work hard enough, you won't play for me. That's just a fact of life.

“I know all players are different and some players can give the impression that they're not working hard but if I don't see the effort and the desire, they certainly won't be playing for this club.

“I think that's the minimum you should expect as a football fan.

“Sometimes people say, ‘isn't it great the way you do it, how hard you work?’ I don't think you should be praised for that really.

“I think that's the minimum of what you should do. That is what I'm looking for. That's what I've got.

“It's a firm ethos of mine. The harder you work, the luckier you get. It doesn't always pan out like that, but it can feel like that.”

Coleman was asked if the squad has the same desire and hunger to win that he does.

“I'll find that out in the next week, that's for sure,” he replied.

“Ultimately, people can go