Prior to their match at Stadium MK on Saturday, Gillingham manager Mark Bonner stated that Scott Lindsey and MK Dons are a wonderful match.
After taking over at Priestfield in the summer, Bonner—who had been predicted to take over at MK1 while he was at Cambridge United—had a fantastic start to life in Kent, staying undefeated through August.
However, Gills’ performance has declined in recent months, and they are now ranked 10th in the league.
Dons meanwhile have mirrored Gillingham, starting slowly before Lindsey took over, and are now sitting in the play-off spots having won their last six in the division.
After guiding Crawley Town to promotion last season, Bonner said Dons’ appointment of Lindsey was the ideal partnership, leading them to being the in-form club in the division.
“If you could pair a manager with a team, it’s probably the perfect pairing,” said Bonner. “Scott’s gone in and the run of form since he’s been there has been excellent.
“They are the form team. I think anyone who finishes above them will get promoted because I do think they’ll be right at the top of it and I think they’ll strengthen again in January and only get better and stronger as they go.
“(They are) certainly one of the favourites and one of the strongest teams (in the division). The identity that they’ve got is really paired nicely with the manager and he maybe hasn’t really got all of the squad that he’ll want yet.
“Those who want to participate in it have a good fight there. However, they are playing well and scoring many goals.
If they don’t take the game to the hosts on Saturday, Bonner says his team will have a difficult afternoon. He says Gillingham will have a rough day if they let Dons have possession of the ball.
He continued: “It will be a thinking game, a talking game, a running game and we’ll have to do that really well.
It’s a big pitch, but when we have the ball, it’s a big pitch for them too. Therefore, it is crucial that we be proficient in it and that we maintain possession, launch attacks, and keep them going.
“It would take too long of an afternoon and too much work to attempt to deal with that if we tried to do it the other way around, always being content without the ball and giving it back. We must go and try our best to be proficient with the ball.
