GILLINGHAM keeper Steve Banks has had a busy pre-season and is hoping his performances will earn him a starting place against Ipswich on Saturday.

The players are still unsure as to the starting line-up for the season opener, with the keeper’s position looking particularly uncertain.

Jason Brown provides the main competition for the No.1 jersey, and despite starting the last three matches, Banks is still keeping his fingers crossed.

He said: “I’ve no idea whether I’ll be in the team but I’ve given everything in the games I’ve played. Nobody has been given an indication of any decisions. Last week the manager said he hadn’t decided on the team yet, so the places are still up for grabs.

“Whatever the decision, we have to go with it. If it doesn’t go your way, then you’ve got to knuckle down and continue to work hard and hope you get your chance.”

Pre-season has seen Banks busy preparing and he recently joined the likes of Bolton’s Jussi Jaaskelainen and West Brom's Russell Hoult on a week’s intensive goalkeeping course.

“Pre-season hasn’t been too bad, it started well and I went away to Stafford for a week’s training. I’ve been doing it for the last nine or 10 years and it’s just for keepers. I like the course and working with other goal keepers provides plenty of friendly competition.”

Banks suffered a setback on his return to the rigours of pre-season training as he missed a week through injury.

“When I came back, I hurt my Achilles and that put me out for a week, which was the second week of pre-season. After recovering, I’ve been playing catch-up to get my fitness back and to catch up on the games. I’ve been involved in the last five or six games and I’m now back in full training.

“It’s been pretty hectic here recently, it’s been a hard with lots of long sessions, especially last week where we had a game every day.”

Banks started Gills’ last three friendlies and feels that from a personal and team level, the pre-season has built up well ahead of their Coca-Cola Championship campaign.

“Everything’s gone well since my injury. I’ve been involved in a lot of games and feel that every game we played we’ve progressed. We had a few indifferent performances in the early games but then when we played the Dutch side there was a big improvement. Then came the Charlton game, where the lads performed well, and we could have even sneaked a winner.

"I'm looking forward to this year and particularly hopeful. Almost everyone is fit, apart from one or two minor injuries. The main thing is there are no long-term injuries like last season.”