Here are the key talking points from Darren Moore's pre-Gillingham press conference.
SQUAD UPDATE
They’ve both been back in training this week (Harlee Dean and Josh Windass) and they’re both looking good. We’ll make a decision on Friday to see if they’ll be in the squad. Mendez-Laing is in the same position and we feel, if he’s not in the squad this weekend, he will be ready next week.
Lewis Gibson and Liam Palmer are the two who probably won’t be available. Ciaran Brennan picked up a knock in the Under-23s, so apart from them everyone seems to be okay.
DOMINIC IORFA BACK TO FITNESS
I’m really pleased to have Dom back in the team, and to have him at this part of the season is great.
He’s done a lot of work over the months and there was no greater sight than seeing him back the other day. He’ll just get stronger. He’s very serious about his business, he wants to train properly and perform and he gives us that bit more quality.
GILLINGHAM THIS WEEKEND
It's a dangerous game. They are fighting for their lives at the bottom end of the table, it’s a different situation to us, but we’re both fighting for different things. We’ll take a large away support and it will add to the appetite for the game. We need to stay focused; we know it will be difficult but we will be prepared when we get down there.
We have worked incredibly hard, but we are not the finished article and there will always be ways for us to improve. We have stern tests in the coming games, so the players need to keep their focus and consistency.
DECISIONS ON UNDER-23 PLAYERS THIS WEEK
We came to a decision with the younger players. We don’t want to block the pathway for some of the other talented younger players coming through, and we don’t want to stop our Under-23s finding other clubs. It’s a time when clubs are looking at younger players for their 23s and 18s sides.
We’ve now opened the door for our Under-16s and 17s to step up as well and they’ll get an opportunity to play in higher age groups in preparation for next season.
We need to develop youngsters for the first team and that’s why we have a close connection between our first team and academy staff, we have regular meetings with updates on all the players.
INFLUENCE OF SUPPORTERS
What we need from the supporters is that deafening noise that we know they can create. Every single manager and opposition player tells me about the atmosphere at Hillsborough after games.
They are the 12th man and when they get behind the team at Hillsborough it’s fantastic. We’re proud of our home form and we want to continue that, so as manager I want to echo what opposition players say to me, it’s a tribute to how important our fans are to our success.
LEAGUE ONE THIS SEASON
The league is what we thought it would be at the start of the season, there are big teams in there and with that a lot of expectation. The quality of player gets better in this league due to the size of some of the clubs in the division.
We just need to focus on ourselves and not worry about what other teams are doing. When we win games and you come in on the Monday, the level of training just goes up and up and up, so even though you don’t move up in the table, there’s an energy at the club and the mindset improves.