Manager speaks prior to travelling down to Kent to face high flying Gillingham.
Paul Dickov revealed at his weekly press conference that Saturday’s opponents Gillingham were one of his pre-season tips to do well this season.The Scot has been proved right thus far with the Gills handily placed in fourth and midfielder Bradley Dack and manager Justin Edinburgh nominated for monthly Football League awards.
“They’re a good team who’ve had a good start and they were one of my tips to surprise everyone this year,” said Dickov.
“They finished last season well under Justin and made some good signings. They’re a very energetic side who are a threat going forward so it’s going to be a battle but we’re going in to it with a lot of confidence.
“He (Dack) is high on confidence and the system they play really suits him but we’ve watched them and know what their strengths are but we also feel we can cause them a lot of problems as well.
“It’s a long trip but we want to make it worthwhile. The lads are confident - bullish even - off the back of a win at the weekend and another clean sheet. With the squad looking a lot healthier, there’s more competition for places again.”
Dickov will be able to call upon midfielders Paul Keegan and Dany N’Guessan, as well as new signing Oscar Gobern but admitted there will be no place for veteran Richie Wellens after his protracted move away from Keepmoat Stadium fell through.
“Keegs will be back in the squad after his 45 minutes the other night while Dany has trained fully. With Cameron and Oscar coming in, we’re looking a bit healthier,” said Dickov.
“He (Gobern) is a good player and he’s someone I was trying to sign through the summer but he decided to go to QPR which is a big club. He’s not had the game time though so as soon as we found out about him we were only too happy to take him.
“Richie won’t be involved at the weekend though and I’ve made the decision after speaking to him. There’s been a lot of conspiracy theories but there’s certainly no problem between me and Richie or Richie and the club and I’d like to stress that.
“He understands that I’ve got to make a stance on it. It’s not that Richie doesn’t want to be here, there’s circumstances which mean he wants to be closer to home. You never say never in football, if a move doesn’t materialise he could come back.”