Town boss Joe Royle will once again field an unchanged side when Gillingham visit Portman Road on Saturday. Royle will be looking for his side to take October's good form into November.

The injury situation is gradually improving with Tommy Miller now getting back to full fitness after a run-out in the reserves yesterday. He'll once again be on the bench against the Gills.

Midfielder Alan Mahon is still out with his hamstring injury and is now officially not on loan, although he is remaining at Town while he recuperates. He has had a second scan which showed that the haematoma to be small and he should be fit in two or three weeks. His 93-day loan will restart once he regains his fitness.

Full-back Chris Makin will return to training over the next few weeks after his groin injury. Dutchman Martijn Reuser is back in training after his groin problem and needs to get a few games under his belt before he can be considered for the senior squad.

England U21 striker Darren Bent is progressing well and should be back in training next week after his knee injury while defender Drissa Diallo is doing strengthening work this week on his knee. He should be back in training in around 10 days.

Youngster Aidan Collins is back in full training having sprained his ankle recently, but is a week or so off a game.

A new addition to the list is Alun Armstrong who injured a calf in training and will be unavailable for a week.

After two away games on the trot manager Royle is looking forward to giving home supporters a chance to see how his side is doing: “It'll be nice to show the fans that we've been playing really well. Our second half performances at Preston and Crystal Palace were outstanding.

“What we've been working on this week are one or two things to make us start quicker in games. I can't use the ‘excuse' that we have been travelling too much on Saturday!

“We do need to start brighter. We're adding one or two little drills to the warm-up which will hopefully get us into the game, but I also think we've got one or two individuals who are slow starters.”

While the starting eleven will be unchanged there will be a switch on the bench due to Alun Armstrong's unavailability. Central defender John McGreal may come in after a lengthy absence, ahead of next week's trip to Derby where the Blues will be without the suspended Richard Naylor and Chris Bart-Williams.

Royle says he hasn't decided whether to include McGreal this weekend as yet: “I'll have a look at it on Friday. There's a possibility that he could be sub but I'll wait and see. It's next week which is important for him.”

The Town boss is not expecting an easy game on Saturday: “Gillingham are always a hard, strong side to play against, in the mould of Andy Hessenthaler. They are not a soft touch by any means.”

Young midfielder Ian Westlake has impressed his boss in recent games: “Westy's done terrific. He's filled Alan Mahon's place in a slightly different role. Whereas we gave Alan a freer more forward winger's role, Westy's played more of a conventional left midfield role. He has exceptional running power and can play. He's been a bonus and we're pleased with him.”

Royle says confidence has helped his side make light of the loss of players like Mahon and Diallo and he has been impressed with his team on the training pitch: “We've been terrific in training today and if we take that out on to the pitch I'll be delighted.”

Gillingham will be without Marlon King who picked up a hamstring injury against Bolton on Wednesday. Other than that Andy Hessenthaler says his side is not too badly hit by injuries: “Marlon is obviously out, Paul Shaw has a slight ankle problem and Ian Cox and Barry Ashby have both had flu, but they should be OK.”

Former Town defender Wayne Brown has returned to Watford after spending a month on loan at the Priestfield Stadium.

Saturday's referee is Mark Cooper from Walsall who has shown 53 yellow and five red cards in 12 games this season. He has not previously officiated in a Town game.

Likely squad: Davis, Price, Wilnis, Richards, Naylor, Santos, Nash, McGreal, Magilton, Wright, Bart-Williams, Westlake, Miller, Couñago, Kuqi, Bowditch.

Photo: Action Images

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