Kentish Express Ashford & District
Season over for Gills
CLUB COMES FIRST SAYS BOSS EVANS
Gillingham boss Steve Evans was disappointed to see the League 1 season cut short but accepts the club comes first.
The majority of League 1 clubs – including the Gills – voted to curtail the season.
Evans wanted to play on and see out the remaining nine games of the season. He felt confident they could have made the play-offs. But in the end finances won the day.
“I am really disappointed,” said the Gills manager.
“I managed to get Paul Scally (the Gillingham chairman) on side many times to play football, to play the season out. I wanted to play the nine games and I thought we would have got into the play-offs after looking at all the run-ins.
“In fairness to Paul Scally he wanted to play too and it is only in the last few days that he reluctantly had to take the view that there was no funding here for what would be about £350k-£450k cost to finish for each club. There was no help coming from anywhere.
“I accept what the chairman should do. He puts the future of the football club at the top of the list.
“I was disappointed but at the same time accepting of the decision and despite taking its time to get there, I think the EFL have got there and there is consistency in League 1 and 2 and that was important.”
The Gills move up a place to 10th but others are more hard hit.
Tranmere drop into the relegation places on points per game average – the way clubs agreed to end the season – while Evans’ former club Peterborough are replaced by
Wycombe in the play-off places.
Coventry City and Rotherham United – another of Evans’ former clubs – take the automatic promotion places.
“Coventry are deserved champions for me, absolutely,” Evans said.
“Rotherham are fortunate, very fortunate, they had a tough run in, but I am absolutely delighted for Tony Stewart (the United chairman) given the investment. I am delighted for Paul Warne as well (the manager) because it is alright having that backing but you still have to deliver it.
“I will certainly be watching them in the Championship with real pride because when you manage a club for three and a half years you will always have that affinity.
“I admit I am really down about Peterborough not being in the playoffs at the end of the season.
“Points per game is the fairest way but it has to be weighted, between home and away. Posh would be in the play-offs and I would be supporting them. I feel for the fans and I live amongst them in Peterborough.
“Tranmere are the big losers. Micky Mellon (their manager) a fellow Glaswegian. They had won their last three away games, they were absolutely one of the form teams going into this.
“I feel sorry for them because I think they would have got out of it and I think Wimbledon are the beneficiaries of it stopping.”
The Gills had an outside chance of making the play-offs and Evans was confident they would have made it, had they had the chance.
He said: “I was in a similar position at Rotherham when we went up before. I look at that and think. Could we have done it? Yes we could.”