DEFENDER Richard Rose is in the Gillingham squad to face Craig Brown's Preston at Priestfield on Saturday. And player-manager Andy Hessenthaler could make his first start.

But Mark Saunders is expected to fill the right back slot despite missing training on Thursday with a slight knock.

Nicky Southall will miss out after picking up a groin injury but is expected to be fit for Stoke.

Paul Smith received treatment for a foot injury he picked up against Ipswich but he’s expected to be fit.

David Perpetuini, Alan Pouton and Darius Henderson will play in the reserves next week. Tommy Johnson has a slight problem with his knee but should be fit in the next week or so.

Nyron Nosworthy is definitely out for the Preston game with a groin strain picked up against Leeds. A scan revealed no tear but he needed treatment on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Hessenthaler says he is hoping Gills can make Priestfield a fortress thoughout the season.

The club's home record last season was 10 wins, 12 defeats and just one draw as they just about avoided relegation.

Hessenthaler has stressed the importance of a good home record. He said: “We've spoken about that on the training ground. We won the other night against Leeds but the one blip was that we conceded a goal, a goal that was offside as far as I was concerned.

“I looked at the video and even on the night I thought when the ball was played wide he was offside.

“But we must cut out conceding silly goals and be harder to play against at home as I thought we were the other night.

“We worked hard as a team and if we can do that week in, week out I am convinced you will see our home form will be a lot better.

“We must make Priestfield a hard place to come and that will be the key to how our season pans out.

“We’ve won the first home game and it would be nice to make that two.

“We only had one draw last season and if we’re not going to win games, we must make sure we don’t lose them and that’s what I’ve been putting into the players’ heads.

“With the players we’ve got in forward areas, we’ll create chances so we’ve got to be patient.”

But Hessenthaler is not underestimating the job his side face as Preston make the long journey down the M6.

He said: “I went to Wolves the other night to watch them and in the first half an hour they were the best team I’ve seen.

“The way they went out and tried to play was tremendous. They took the game to Wolves and went 2-0 up early on.

“Unfortunately they lost a player and it changed the game but even with 10 men they still did very well. If they play as well as they did the other night, it’ll be a tough game for us.”

Looking at the season ahead, Hessenthaler believes it's important to have different tactical options to get the right results, as he told Km-fm...