Gillingham: Mark Bonner's squad comments hint at potential challenges ahead - View | OneFootball

Gillingham have hit the ground running in League Two, but manager Mark Bonner knows big tests, on and off the field, are just around the corner.

It's so far, so good at Gillingham, with two wins in two league games, despite having a number of first-teamers missing for both.

The Gills have produced two very different performances in their first two games, with their resounding 4-1 win over Carlisle on opening day followed by a gritty, hard-fought 1-0 win at Morecambe, with a late George Lapslie goal giving them all three points on the road.

The manner of the two performances offers plenty for fans to be optimistic about, but Gillingham manager Mark Bonner also hinted that bigger challenges are just around the corner, and they'll take a number of different forms.

Games will get tougher as teams bed in

Bonner revealed that he expects the games to get more competitive and more difficult in the coming weeks as teams start to find their rhythm.

It's always tricky at the start of a season, as new signings are trying to get on the same wavelength as their teammates, and players are still trying to play their way to optimum match fitness. It means that mistakes are more common at the start of the season as teams are still bedding in their first-team starters.

It's something Bonner has identified as an upcoming challenge to be aware of, as teams start to improve their chemistry and play with more cohesiveness and fluidity week to week. The hope at Priestfield will be that Gillingham are able to establish both quicker than most and, with two wins from two games played, they've certainly made a solid start.

Mark Bonner praised Gillingham's early-season spirit, but more tests await

Another key point Bonner highlighted during his post-match comments was the spirit in the squad, and the Gills boss praised the character and professionalism of transfer-listed duo Oli Hawkins and George Lapslie, who both came off the bench and made an impact at Morecambe, with Lapslie scoring the crucial goal, and Hawkins contributing at both ends of the pitch, defending well at the back and crashing a late header off the crossbar in the closing moments.

But Bonner also mentioned that his squad as a whole needs to exhibit those same character traits, with the topsy-turvy nature of a football season likely to see players in and out of the side through form, injury or simply managerial preference.

"You can be out of it. You can be out of favour. You can be dropped one week, not in the squad, and then start in the next. All that happens in the story of a football season," said Bonner.

"And I guess you've just got to ride it out and keep your head and make an impact."

Players will need to have a squad-first mentality to help keep morale high during the season

Those personal challenges will become more apparent when Bonner gets more of his first-team squad fully fit and ready to play. The Gillingham team that defeated Morecambe at the weekend was missing a host of first-teamers, with as many as five or six of those names potentially being starters if the entire squad is fit.

It means that players will need to fully buy in to the notion that a football season isn't about starting XIs, but instead it's about making the matchday squad and being available to make a difference when called upon.

Lapslie's and Hawkins' performances have shown exactly that, and Bonner will be hoping for similar professionalism as more players return to the team, and more players find themselves out of the side as a result.