Gills ready for revenge against Forest

Following a disastrous season in the Championship and relegation to League One, Nottingham Forest were universally expected to bounce straight back up, but as many League One fans would have told us, this is a very tough division to get out of - and Forest are finding the going tough early on in their season.

After nicking a last-gasp (and undeserved, according to Huddersfield boss Peter Jackson) 2-1 win over Huddersfield at the City Ground, Forest have gone on to lose their next three league games, 3-2 to Walsall, 2-1 to Swindon and 1-0 to Scunthorpe.

To compound their misery, Forest saw their virtually-full-strength first team crash out of the Carling Cup, at home, in the very first round to Macclesfield Town, currently second bottom of League Two with just one point on the board so far this season. The Silkmen had managed just three goals in their three league matches so far. They achieved that feat in eighty minutes against Forest.

The match saw the fans turn on both the players and the manager, with Megson copping a fair amount of stick from the Forest faithful as they saw their side humiliated at the hands of the League Two strugglers.

Talking to the press in the Midlands, Megson said, "I'll battle to prove people wrong.

"I am seriously annoyed at what you have to put up with as manager at Nottingham Forest.

"Last night I was sworn at and told I was the worst manager they've had here - and that's saying something.

"I don't like that and I will fight against it. I will fight. I also don't like the treatment the players got, it was over the top.

"But there has to be accountability sometimes and our wage bill would pay Macclesfield's for the next ten years. But they still managed to compete with us, they still beat us."

It won't get any easier for them this weekend, either, as they travel to Priestfield Stadium to face the in-form Gills. They are unbeaten so far this season - and sit just one point off the top of the table after a solid start to the season. Gillingham will also be keen to exact revenge on Forest for the result on the final day of the season, when a late wonder goal from Eugen Bopp equalised the game for already-relegated Forest at 2-2 and sent the Gills down to League One with them.

The way the tannoy announcer in the ground prolonged the agony for the Gills fans, knowing that we'd been relegated, was cruel to say the least. The reaction of the Forest fans to Gillingham's relegation was one that many Gills fans in the ground that day will never forget. It was as if they'd just won the Cup. Their 'celebrations' of our demise, despite the fact they'd been relegated days before, showed little class and left a very sour taste. The Gills fans were praised for their conduct by Forest and their stewards, but it was a shame that Forest's fans weren't able to conduct themselves with similar dignity.

As a direct result, this weekend's match will be considered a must-win game by those Gills fans who were there at The City Ground back in May.

Tickets are on sale now from the GFC ticket office so make sure you've got yours. The match kicks off at 3pm.