Gillingham need to be fast starters on Saturday to capitalise on a visiting side who might be short of confidence.

That’s the hope of interim manager Keith Millen, as he prepares the Gills to face a Newport County side who have lost their last four games away from home in the league and sit 19th in the table.

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“It is important how we start the game,” he said.

“They are under a bit of pressure because they haven’t had the results maybe they want.

“I don’t know what to expect from them but it will be down to us as a team to set the tone and if we do that then our fans will create a good atmosphere and hopefully we can go on and win the game.”

It could be Millen’s last league game in charge. He’s got a record of two wins and two defeats so far.

He said: “I would love us to win, playing with really good possession (and being) expansive, that would be the dream, a real good display with the ball that scoring goals, that would be a good way to then let me enjoy my Saturday night.”

As with any team in League 2, Newport will still pose problems. They won on their last visit to Priestfield 2-1, in the final home game of the 2022/23 season for the Gills.

“They will cause us different problems,” warned Millen.

“You have to respect them as much the last two opponents for different reasons.

“They are not on a great run of form but that’s always dangerous because they will be looking to the next game to turn it around, we have to make sure it’s not us.

“I would imagine they will be fighting for their lives, be strong, aggressive and all of what you would expect from a Graham Coughlan side. We will be ready for that.

“I want us to learn from the last two games, take good bits from them and hopefully have more possession of the ball. We have been a bit starved the last two games.

“I said to them it would be nice to have the ball a bit more but we have to be effective with it, it’s not about keeping the ball for the sake of it and getting our stats up, it’s about scoring goals and winning football matches.

“Last home game against Notts County was tough, we were dominated as far as possession was concerned and for home fans to see that you can understand their frustration. We could have easily come away with a draw, which I felt we deserved for the effort and hopefully the fans saw that effort.

“Saturday will be different. It will be down to us to take the onus and try and force the play a little more as the home team.

“We’ve had two good performances against two teams who I think are the best footballing sides in the league. We could quite easily have come away with four points from the two games and so that should be a confidence boost for the group.”