Gillingham have every reason to believe they can get a result this weekend from their trip to big-guns Sunderland.

A 4-1 win over Crewe Alexandra on Tuesday has given them a confidence boost after scraping a 2-2 draw against Rochdale at the weekend.

“It’s another good team to go up against, the league is full of them this season,” said assistant boss Paul Raynor.

“It will be a massive test for us, they are full of confidence, but if we play like we did on Tuesday we don’t have to fear anyone. It is about what we do.

“Sunderland have some fantastic players and a bright new manager in Lee Johnson. He did great things at Bristol City. We know what we are up against. We know we aren’t expected to win but we will be full of confidence and keen to put a good performance on.”

The Gills were beaten 2-0 at Priestfield by Sunderland at the end of October, conceding two late goals. Prior to that and a sending off for Alex MacDonald they were well in the game.

“We played some good stuff and we were a bit unlucky,” said Raynor, recalling that game.

“I think we were in a run of games where we just couldn’t buy a win. We had a couple of performances that certainly deserved more.”

Last season the Gills played Sunderland four times, beating them twice at Priestfield and drawing their league and cup matches at the Stadium of Light.

“We had a couple of creditable draws against Sunderland last season,” said Raynor.

“It is a good place to go, an enjoyable place to go, there is no better place to go in League 1 to play football. We will go full of confidence and looking forward to the challenge but we know it will be a tough afternoon.”

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