While it’s ‘squeaky bum time’ for some Gillingham boss Steve Evans says his side have nothing to stress about.

His team are pushing to get involved with the leading sides in League 1 with only minimal expectation. For others, the pressure is on them to achieve promotion.

Gillingham dropped a place to ninth on Tuesday night as a handful of games were played in the division. The Gills had the evening off but fielded their fringe players in a 3-2 afternoon win over Luton Town, coming from behind to win with goals from Robbie McKenzie (2) and the returning Dominic Samuel.

The Gills remain two points off the top six, however. Some of those teams above still have games in hand but Evans said: “If we are within five or six points of the play-offs when it all levels out then it is squeaky bum time for some of them [managers] that are on massive budgets, they have to deliver promotion or they will be spending a lot of times in their gardens soon won’t they?

“My players can play with no fear, no worries, go out and just work incredibly hard. Our supporters will have been really disappointed [on Saturday against Doncaster] when we gave away a 2-0 lead at half-time but at the same token those watching would have been on the edge of their seats as the players did everything to win the second half.

“We just have to continue to fight and let’s continue to work hard, let’s look at the table with five games to go, when these big-budget managers who promised all sorts back in the summer to their chairmen.

“I look at some managers, I won’t name them. They all picked their teams who would be up there, at the start of the season, they had opinions and all season they have spoken about this one challenging and this other one getting in, quite gladfully we have not been mentioned. That is great.

“A couple more games and the squeaky bums will be rattling. We have nothing to rattle, we have no squeaky bums, we have the bottom budget.”

The phrase ‘squeaky bum time’ was first used by former Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson - a manager Evans is a huge fan of - to rattle opposition boss Arsene Wenger.

The Gills have picked up some eye-catching results of late, beating MK Dons, Ipswich Town, Swindon and Lincoln this month. They end March with a trip to league leaders Hull City on Saturday.

“We have got good players but we haven’t got enough of them,” Evans said.

“We probably have players in certain positions as good as any in the league. The boys have to work hard, if they don’t they don’t play, but we are incredibly fit.

“We have been all around the country, Fleetwood, Swindon and Lincoln in the last two weeks but in the second half on Saturday, particularly the last half hour, it was Gillingham who were still running, still strong, hence why we dominated and had the chances.”

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