Manager Gareth Ainsworth knows he’ll have to juggle his Gillingham squad around during this season’s EFL Trophy.
The Gills have group matches against Fulham under-21s, Colchester and Wycombe to play in the next three months.
Gillingham manager Gareth Ainsworth. Picture: Barry Goodwin
The first match is tonight (Tuesday) at home to Fulham, kick-off 7pm.
Teams have to field their “full available squad” or face a fine of £5,000 and Ainsworth admitted his hands are tied to some extent.
“We'll see what we do Tuesday now, but it'll all be about the legs and making sure that we're not risking anyone injury-wise, but we're competitive in the game,” explained Ainsworth.
“There's some rules that really frustrate me, because we'd never take it lightly, but you're sort of governed that you have to do certain things in this competition.
“Believe me, it kills teams like Gillingham when we've got a small squad and the way we want to do things. But we'll give it a go and I'm sure Fulham will be doing their research on us.
“If we keep playing the way we do, I'm sure we can turn anyone over. So, looking forward to Tuesday and then we've got the big derby next Saturday at Bromley.
“We'll see which way we want to use this game (Fulham), but it's a game we have to go into.
“Obviously, you can earn good money and go far in that cup, but it can be a bit of a hindrance sometimes as well.
“The group stages can be quite thick and fast, so let's get through these first and I'm sure you'll see some young boys playing but you'll have to see some experienced players playing as well.”