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Jepson: players must now believe in themselves

GILLINGHAM'S assistant manager Ronnie Jepson has urged his players to take new belief from their second straight win on Saturday.

The 3-1 victory at Rotherham came just seven days after the 2-1 win over Wigan, meaning Gillingham have beaten the Championship's top and bottom sides in successive matches.

Jepson said: "It was nice to get back-to-back wins and finally win an away game. We've been trying to instil belief in the players since we came to the club and results like this help them believe in themselves.

"Rotherham is a difficult place to come to, especially as we had square pegs in round holes. But the players were fantastic and it was a case of all hands to the pump. The young lads who came in all did well and put themselves on the line.

"The fans were terrific, too. They got right behind the team even when Rotherham got back to 1-1 and you can tell they are starting to believe we can beat the drop, too. We missed a few chances to make it 2-0 in the first half and when that happens you do start to wonder if it's going to be your day.

Gillingham weren't helped by the other results in the relegation dogfight, with Coventry and Cardiff both winning.

But Plymouth, Brighton and Crewe all lost, dragging them back into danger, while Cardiff's financial problems could ultimately help Gills' cause.

The Welsh club are nearly £30million in debt and have been unable to pay their players wages this month.

Skipper Graham Kavanagh was sold to Wigan on Friday and more players could follow. And if the club goes into administration, they would suffer an immediate 10-point penalty.

Jepson insist, though, that he and boss Stan Ternent don't pay much attention to the other teams' fortunes.

"It's not about the other teams, it's about what we do ourselves. We have a target in mind we need to reach for safety and we will keep aiming for that."

Alan Pouton and Barry Ashby both left the field injured at Millmoor and were due to have scans at the weekend to determine the extent of their injuries.

But John Hills and Nayron Nosworthy will both return from suspension for the trip to Leeds on Saturday, while Danny Spiller and Darren Byfield could both be in contention for a place in the squad.

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