Carlisle v Gillingham

GILLINGHAM'S league standing isn't troubling Ronnie Jepson any more than usual and he says the spirit among the squad is high.

Ahead of Saturday's game at Carlisle the manager said: "It’s been like this all season. We have always been a certain amount of points away from the relegation zone and nothing has changed.

“The fact we have dropped a few places in the league has highlighted that a bit but we will keep fighting to get the wins we need to stay up.

“It’s always tough with a squad the size of ours but the lads are in good spirit. We came close to getting a draw at Nottingham Forest and we will be going up to Carlisle looking to pull a result out of the hat.”

Jepson could hand a debut to 21-year-old loan signing Dale Tonge at Carlisle.

Tonge has joined the Gills from Barnsley until April 21 and could find himself straight in the starting line-up due to Gillingham’s mounting midfield problems.

Matt Jarvis is out with a groin injury, while Andrew Crofts is away on international duty with Wales and skipper Michael Flynn is struggling to recover from a rib injury.

Jepson said: “Dale is a competitor and a winner and I would have no worries about throwing him straight into the team.

“He’s going to be in the squad and with the players we have missing in midfield, he’s got a good chance of starting the game.

“He played a big part in getting Barnsley promoted from League 1 last season, so he knows what it’s all about at this level."

Nicky Southall will return to the squad after missing the Forest game due to contractual reasons.

FULL PREVIEW IN THE MEDWAY MESSENGER