Sticking together as a team and a club is the key now for Gillingham says their midfielder Ethan Coleman.

Saturday was a tough one for the club on and off the pitch, beaten by lowly Newport, and in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons following one man’s actions off the pitch.

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The Gills remain without a permanent manager, almost a month since Neil Harris was sacked, which has led to frustration among fans who are keen for stability to return and for the club’s promotion chase to get back on track.

Defeat on Saturday leaves the Gills sitting eighth in table, beaten in five of their last eight League 2 outings.

Coleman spoke after the latest loss, saying: “We’re very disappointed - we need to be winning those games. We’re frustrated.

“We conceded two goals in quick succession which was a bit of a shock, we got our heads back on it and it would have been nice to get a goal before half time, Connor hit the bar and Jonny had a chance.

“We need to stick together as a group, which we will do, stick together as a club and crack on.”

A lack of goals remain an issue for the Gills, the lowest scorers in the division and with less than half the total of the front-runners with a third of the season gone.

“I have said before we need to take our chances and get better at it,” admitted the midfielder.

“Every game is an absolute battle, you never know going into a game what’s going to happen, for example Saturday, we concede two penalties in quick succession, I didn’t think one of them was, but we have to react better and in the second half we had to try and do something, score goals, it is something we are lacking at.”

They had some good chances in the opening half against lowly Newport on Saturday but they dried up after the break. Even the interim manager was disappointed with the team’s efforts in trying to fight back.

Gillingham face National League North side Hereford away this coming Saturday in the FA Cup.

Coleman said: “We have to be better to show quality and unlock defences like that if we want to get promoted.

“It would have been nice going into the FA Cup game (with a win) but we go into that game refreshed and look to get the win.

“We just need to stick together and keep improving.”