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Unfancied League 1 leaders Wycombe head to Priestfield this Saturday.
Few expected them to challenge in League 1 this season but they’ve made the early running.
Gills boss Steve Evans believes they can be a top six side
Gillingham boss Steve Evans is one man who isn’t surprised to see them improve this season after taking an interest in their summer recruitment. They signed a couple of players that Evans was keen on.
He said: “They have got some good players and to have recruited all of those players would cost a sizeable amount of money. What comes with good players are good performances.
“They have obviously found some investment. It’s no secret that I wanted to take the boy (David) Wheeler from Queens Park Rangers. He is now doing very well in their team. We couldn’t get anywhere near him in terms of financially.
“The boy there on loan, Paul Smyth (from QPR), we couldn’t get anywhere near that either.”
Wycombe also have a couple of former Gills players in their ranks. Adebayo Akinfenwa and Josh Parker are both battling for places in Gareth Ainsworth’s squad.
Evans knows it will be a big challenge this weekend.
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He said: “They will be an absolute handful and they have got a manager in charge who I think very highly of and is a personal friend.
“When were at Leeds (in 2015) they asked if we could take a team down there. It was an international weekend and they were struggling to pay the wages.
“We took several thousand fans down there and we helped them get through the month. I would only ever contemplate doing that for someone I regard as a friend.”
Wycombe have scored several late goals in their opening fixtures, with last minute goals defeating both MK Dons and Southend, and that’s something the Gills will be prepared for.
“It’s the sign of a good team,” Evans said. “We had that at Rotherham and at Leeds a bit.
“If you are not the league leaders then it is always great when you’re playing the league leaders, it’s a benchmark, a test and they’ve been terrific.”
