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The Shouting Men with Gillingham midfielder Jake Hessenthaler

Bradley Dack tries to get Gills moving against Swindon Picture: Barry Goodwin
Bradley Dack tries to get Gills moving against Swindon Picture: Barry Goodwin

We’ve had a fair amount of injuries recently in the squad but that’s given others a chance in the side.

On Tuesday night against Swindon the midfield three was myself, Bradley Dack and Callum Davies, just like the old days in the youth team, which was great. Callum cracks me up off the field with his banter but it was a tough game and we had to concentrate.

We dug our heels in and got a point. Callum hadn’t played many minutes recently and was in at the deep end but, like everyone else, he was fantastic. We changed our shape in the second half and that helped. We had more pace with Jermaine McGlashan and Brennan Dickenson.

There was a lot of defending to do but we knew it was going to be tough. To have conceded at the death felt a bit like a loss but we should be pleased with a point. We deserved that.

Stephen Bywater Picture: Barry Goodwin
Stephen Bywater Picture: Barry Goodwin

Our goalkeeper Stephen Bywater was disappointed with what happened at the end of the Swindon game with the own goal, but he pulled off some worldy saves in the match and we might not have even got a point without him.

Stephen’s been here for a few weeks now and he’s a great person to learn from. He is a big guy and has a massive presence, but he’s also really nice. He’s always in early and professional in everything he does.

On Tuesday the fans even started chanting my name. The song sounds pretty similar to my dad’s. They’ve just replaced Andy with Jake and added a ‘y’ on the end of my name.

When you hear your name it does give you a lift and it was a nice feeling.

Gillingham's Capital One Cup clash with Newcastle on Tuesday has brought back some memories of famous cup opponents. David Perpetuini takes on Ray Parlour, above, during Gills' 5-2 defeat to Arsenal in the FA Cup fifth round in 2002 Picture: Grant Falvey
Gillingham's Capital One Cup clash with Newcastle on Tuesday has brought back some memories of famous cup opponents. David Perpetuini takes on Ray Parlour, above, during Gills' 5-2 defeat to Arsenal in the FA Cup fifth round in 2002 Picture: Grant Falvey

Tickets have been selling fast this week for the Newcastle game and we can’t wait.

The lads know that they have to put in good performances now to play in that game and they will be disappointed if they don’t.

I was a bit young to remember those fantastic occasions in the cup when the gaffer was first here but I do remember the trips to Highbury and Stamford Bridge and the game against Leeds when they were in the Premier League.

The atmosphere at those games was amazing and it must have been an unbelievable feeling to have played. To get on and play against Newcastle will be a great feeling.

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