GILLINGHAM face Watford on Sunday looking to re-charge their spluttering season in the first of three successive derby matches in seven days. Player-manager Andy Hessenthaler and his players view the procession of derbies against Watford, Crystal Palace on Wednesday and Saturday's trip to arch-rivals Millwall as an opportunity to reassert themselves and slam the brakes on a down-table slide.

Hessenthaler conceded: "Our problem is a lack of consistency. We took a good point at Crewe, where I've never known much luck, either with my old club Watford or Gillingham. What now becomes important is that we build on what we achieved at Crewe and put together an unbeaten run. There will be big-match atmospheres at all three games and with two of them at home we've the chance to put some consistency back into our performances."

Hessenthaler is likely to announce an unchanged side, unless he decides to start with on-loan Robert Taylor for Iffy Onuora up front. Skipper Paul Smith believes the forthcoming match schedule will tell the team a lot about themselves and also the 4-3-3 formation.

The tireless Smith, who carries an extra burden of responsibility in the midfield three instead of the usual four, said: "With this formation we've got a lot more to offer going forward though we're still in the process of fine-tuning things. Nyron Nosworthy and J-Lloyd Samuel have given us the pace we need to make it work but we still have one or two things to sort out because the system is totally new to us. I've never played in a 4-3-3 in my career, either with Southend, Brentford or Gillingham."

He added: "With the Stockport game making it four games in 10 days we're going to find out one heck of a lot about ourselves and the strength we have in depth. If we can piece together four or five decent results then the confidence will soar sky-high."

Gillingham will be without the on-loan Samuel for Wednesday's match against Palace as he is on international duty. Hessenthaler is hoping to persuade Villa manager John Gregory to extend the loan for a second month.

Sunday's match, which kicks off at 6.15pm, is being broadcast live by the ITV Sport Channel.