Taylor: Time to impress
Manager Peter Taylor hopes his Gillingham team will shine on the big stage.
The Gills travel to Bradford, who were playing Premier League football just 14 years ago, tomorrow (Saturday).
The big players have long gone but Bradford still represent a major team at League 1 level.
“It’s a good football stadium with good football supporters and our players have to go there and enjoy it because we don’t get many games like that in League 1,” said Taylor, who managed Bradford from February 2010 for a year.
“I want the players to look forward to going to stadiums like that because this season there won’t be many times they will get to go to a place like that.
“It is a different type of atmosphere but our players will know maybe the pressure is a little more on them than us. I am expecting them to have a fast start and hope we match them.
“We have to be ready. I do think in the last couple of games we have started a little bit better. We have to make sure we are hard to play against.
“They have to enjoy it and they also have to handle it, that’s the most important thing. They have to contribute to a good performance. You have to look forward to that game and take it on.”
Gillingham head into the game buoyed by back-to-back wins in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy (against Crawley) and the league.
Taylor said: “We knew before Crawley that we needed a result and it’s lovely to get into the next round of a good cup.
“We then had the Orient game here and we were always hopeful that if you get a win, you start believing a bit more. The boys never stopped working hard and it was another great win.”
The success over Leyton Orient was Gills’ first in nine league games but Taylor is remaining level-headed.
He added: “You have to remain consistent but the feeling when you get a result is fantastic.”
Gillingham won 3-2 at home to Leyton Orient last Saturday thanks to Leon Legge (2) and Cody McDonald’s stoppage-time winner.