Gillingham Manager Mark Stimson did not hide his disappointment after seeing his side lose 1-0 at Grays, "It was one of those games that you have to play and you have got to get them out of the way. You want to come away with two things; no injures, which we got today, and a performance, which we didn't get today for some unknown reason."

"Today, you would've thought that we would kick-on especially as the players knew before the game that this was their last chance to impress me before I pick the starting eleven that is going to play against Ipswich on Wednesday night. But there weren't enough players who stood out today and took responsibility."

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"There weren't too many players that stood out for me today. Simeon Jackson always looks a threat in front of goal when he has the ball. John Nutter did well; you know what you are going to get from him. The rest haven't really said to me that I want the shirt and am desperate for it."

But Stimson did take heart from the performance of youngster Luke Rooney, "I thought young Luke Rooney did well today. He is, technically, a good player. He tried to be busy and bright but unfortunately in the first-half, he got wrapped up and we played in front of him too much. He couldn't get in behind them and when he finally did, Gary Mulligan got the ball stuck under his feet and their goalkeeper made the save."

The Gills play host to Ipswich Town and Birmingham City at the krbs Priestfield Stadium at this week and Stimson is sure his side will be ready, "I think players always raise their game when they play a team from a higher division. You see that every year with the shocks in the FA Cup.

"We need to up our game from what it was against Grays, as if we don't, we will get totally embarrassed. Ipswich are a good football team and Birmingham were playing in the Premier League last season. It is good for us to test ourselves against top players and we can learn from that. Then afterwards, we have the games against Dover, Aveley and Thurrock and we can kick-on ready for Bournemouth away.

Finally, Stimson had an update on Kevin Maher's future, "I am just waiting for a phone call on Kevin Maher. I spoke to him on Friday and he said he'd let me know in 48 hours. He has got a couple of deals as well as ours on the table. But I see it as a good sign that he was actually in the stand here today, watching. I don't want to tempt fate but I think that is a plus for us.