Keeping the second leg of Gillingham’s League 2 play-off match alive will be manager Mark Stimson’s main aim on Thursday night.

The Gills head to Rochdale’s Spotland ground for the first leg of the tie, and Stimson is keen for his players to keep it tight, so there is plenty to play for when the teams return to Priestfield for the second leg on Sunday.

“This is the game we’ve all been waiting for,” said Stimson. “We just want to keep the game alive for the second leg.

“Let’s keep it alive so we can bring them back to our own patch where we will have the stadium full up and we can really attack the second one.

“It’s about the players controlling what they want to do and realising it’s over two games. We can’t go there and win the game and we don’t want to lose it and come away with a bad defeat.

"We have to be in control of what we do, play to our strengths and just make sure we come back on Sunday with a chance of winning.

“The away leg is the really important one and we have to go there and do a job and get a decent result and set the second game up. If we can take care of that then Wembley is there waiting for us.”