LEE PELTIER remains a doubt as Town plot a bounce-back win at Gillingham tomorrow.

An ankle injury meant the right-back missed a League I match for the first time since signing from Yeovil in the summer as Lee Clark’s side crashed 5-0 at Southampton on Tuesday.

That defeat hit both the boss and his promotion-chasing players hard, but the message coming out of the club’s South coast training camp is upbeat.

“It’s about showing some character, and I believe we have plenty of that,” said Clark, whose sixth-placed side had been unbeaten in 11 league matches before their St Mary’s setback.

“Southampton played very well on Tuesday and we didn’t perform at all, and that’s unusual for us.

“The mood was pretty sombre when we met up for breakfast on Wednesday, and we held a team meeting that morning.

“We reviewed what happened and discussed where things went wrong, went out and had a good training session and then drew a line under things.

“Now the challenge is to hit back, and I believe my players can do that.”

Having been based at Portsmouth, Town will train at Eastleigh this morning before heading to Maidstone.

“I think being together as a group has helped us because defeat, like victory, is a collective thing,” added Clark.

“If we’d travelled back North after the Southampton game, the lads would have gone their separate ways and just brooded.

“This way we’ve been able to talk it through, get it out of our systems and start to work out how to put things right.”