Gillingham v Nottingham Forest

GILLINGHAM manager Neale Cooper has warned his players they could face a Nottingham Forest backlash on Saturday.

Forest visit Priestfield on the back of three straight league defeats and a Carling Cup exit to Macclesfield on Tuesday.

But the Gillingham boss knows the pre-season promotion favourites will be eager to appease their less-than-impressed manager Gary Megson.

Cooper said: "Megson had a right go at his players. And he’ll definitely have them wound up.

"Forest are still a big team and they’ve spent a lot of money in the summer. They’ve got a lot of quality but it just hasn’t happened for them so far."

Gills’ unbeaten run has lifted them to fourth in the table, while they hold a 100 per cent home record in all competitions.

Following the 1-0 victory over Oxford in the Carling Cup, Cooper hopes to see his players improve after a less than convincing performance.

"We’re still undefeated after the Oxford tie and we’ve got to keep that run going.

"The cup’s a funny one. It gave us a shake-up and we spoke about it afterwards and we’re ready to go now at the weekend."

Captain Chris Hope – who was at the City Ground in the early part of his career – was dropped for last season’s 2-2 draw in Nottingham, a result which saw Gills relegated.

Now an ever-present under Cooper, he is looking forward to the match and facing former team-mate Nicky Southall, who makes his first return to Priestfield since his summer move to the City Ground.

Hope said: "Nicky's a good player and it was a big loss to us. He seems to be enjoying it [at Forest].

"It will be strange for him coming back to play against us here and I’m sure he’s relishing the chance."

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