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Gillingham are hoping to enjoy their big cup game on Saturday and forget for a moment the pain of their League 2 campaign.
Captain Stuart O’Keefe isn’t hiding away from their league failings and says the players are hurting too. They get a chance to put that aside when they take on Premier League Leicester City in the FA Cup.
O’Keefe said: “It is hard to look forward to games at the moment because of our position in the league but we’ve got to try and enjoy it, enjoy the occasion.
“As a footballer you want to play against the best teams and we have a chance to do that on Saturday. We have already had a couple of Premier League opposition in the cups so it will be another nice one infront of the home crowd
“I played here against West Ham in the cup, it was a fantastic occasion, to see the stadium sold out is what you want, bringing good times here because there has not been much to sing and dance about, for us it is a chance to enjoy the day and the fans they can come and enjoy watching a Premier League team at Priestfield.
“(We need to) work hard, dig in, (hope for) a bit of luck, hopefully they have an off day and we can produce an upset but we will see.”
Gills are bottom of the Football League heading into the match. Leicester are 13th in the Premier League table.
The Gills have just come out of a tough festive period, losing all three of their matches. The players have been booed off too.
O’Keefe said: “We haven’t been good enough in the results and we know that fans get frustrated but so do players, we have our livelihoods to think about, we are not on millions of pound contracts with four or five years to go, it is tough for everyone.
“We do care, we need to start showing that, hopefully the fans can respond to us in a positive way, we have to stick together, look after each other and take confidence and belief from Wolves (in the last round of the Carabao Cup) and Leicester coming up and keep working hard, keep believing in what we are doing, believing in everyone at the club, we will turn the corner.
“No players wants to be booed, of course it is not nice, no player wants to be told ‘you are not fit to wear the shirt’, or whatever they are singing, it is not nice, but at the end of the day we have to understand that we are bottom of the league, we are going to get flak, we are going to get discontent.
“As a player you have to always go back to your morals. What can you do? You have to work hard, believe, take confidence, you can’t give up and throw in the towel, you are going to have to come back Monday morning and work hard and try and get better every single day, whether that is small percentages, whatever it is.
“We are not going to get out of this by feeling sorry for ourselves, by moaning about the crowd booing us or whatever, we have to stay strong as a group and a football club, and turn the corner and when we do turn the corner the fans will be with us.
“They will be with us on Saturday and we have to take that positive energy and turn a positive week next week into a massive game against Hartlepool (in the league) and the remaining fixtures in January where there are some big games coming up, you just have to stick to your beliefs and stick to your morals and believe in each other, stay confident and trust the process.”
O’Keefe and the rest of the team have seen what’s been going on at the club, with a new owner and new arrivals expected.
“It can only be a positive,” said the captain. “It is a new time at the club, new challenges ahead, it isn’t going to change overnight, we know that, I am sure everyone else knows that, again it is a step in the right direction.
“Positive signs are happening at the club and hopefully with the game on Saturday, a sell-out stadium, it is a good way to start the new year here and hopefully it’s a more positive 2023.”
