Gills meet away day problems head on…
Plenty of Gillingham fans may have pondered that question on the way home from watching the 2-1 victory at Barnet on Tuesday night, which came hot on the heels of a 1-0 win at Oxford last weekend.
Injuries, bad luck, poor refereeing decisions and better opposition have all been used to explain the 34-game winless run, but the latest addition to the club’s backroom staff believes differently.
Sports psychologist Ashley Lawrence was brought in following the side’s humiliating FA Cup defeat to Dover earlier this month. Since then the former Gills youth team player has come in twice a week to speak to the squad and believes success is all in the mind.
“If you look through all the players in the division, 10 per cent will be physically better and 10 per cent not as good, so there are 80 per cent in the middle that are roughly the same,” he said. “So what’s the bit that lifts them above that? It’s psychological, not about ability. It’s that edge and if you can get five per cent more then you’re going to do well.