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Sport

Gillingham manager Steve Lovell says players' FA Cup performance is the recipe for success as thoughts return to League 1 survival battle

By: Luke Cawdell lcawdell@thekmgroup.co.uk

Published: 00:00, 29 January 2019

All eyes are back on the league for Gillingham.

Steve Lovell’s men bowed out of the FA Cup at Championship side Swansea on Saturday, but get back to business at home to Accrington Stanley in League 1 on Tuesday.

Boss Lovell said: “We enjoyed the FA Cup journey, we would have liked to have gone further but it wasn’t for the want of trying and the effort the players put in – now we concentrate on the league.

Mark Byrne and Max Ehmer get stuck in against Swansea's Oli McBurnie Picture: Ady Kerry

“It is an important month-to-six weeks coming up for us to get points in the league. We will keep going and if the boys show the effort they showed (at Swansea) with the quality I know we have got, we will be fine.”

The Gills are only a point above the relegation zone, sitting 19th in the table with 18 games still to play.

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While the Gills were beaten 4-1 by Swansea, 10-man Accrington lost to another Championship side, Derby, in the Cup earlier in the day.

Lovell said: “Accrington have had a tough game in the FA Cup, I suppose they might make a couple of changes and we will have to. But it is back at Priestfield against a team a bit like us, up and down.

“I imagine it will be an entertaining game. We beat them first game of the season and played very well. They will be looking to get one over us and I know John (Coleman’s) team will be fit and raring to go. It will be a battle but one we have to be up to.”

Lovell’s men covered plenty of ground in an attempt to keep up with Swansea at the weekend and the Gills boss knows some of his players will be feeling it.

He said: “I might have to make changes because the boys ran a lot of miles and it is hard when you are running and you haven’t got the ball, that is why I am proud of the boys.

“They kept going for long periods of the game. We didn’t have the ball and to keep going and running shows character. They are a great bunch.

“They put in the effort and with a little bit more quality in front of goal – which Swansea had – it might have been a different game. But credit to Swansea, they deserved to win.”

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