ANTHONY PILKINGTON is ready to help Town resume normal service at Gillingham tomorrow.

Lee Clark’s League I promotion-chasing side had been flying on their travels before Tuesday’s 5-0 setback at Southampton.

And the winger wants to kick bitter memories of the St Mary’s Stadium showdown firmly into touch at Priestfield.

After winning at Carlisle, Hartlepool and Tranmere before last Saturday’s 2-2 home draw with Leeds, Town go for a seventh away win of the campaign in Kent.

Pilkington has been a key man in the push to sixth place, scoring eight goals in all competitions and setting up a host of others.

The 21-year-old is quick to praise the backing he’s received from manager Clark, who signed him from Stockport the January before last.

“The gaffer always encourages me,” he said. “He tells me to get into final third, be creative and try to punish defences, to keep crossing and keep shooting.

“I love to score goals – who wouldn’t? – but the main part of my job is to create them, and we have some top strikers here.

“Jordan Rhodes and Lee Novak have been leading the line, and they are two lads who work their socks off every week.

“I know the supporters love to see that effort, but the rest of the players do as well, and over the season, those two have done brilliantly.

“We’ve had some ups and downs, but the key thing now is to keep going, and keep trying to pick off those sides above us.

“We need to forget the other night and remember that because of our form over the whole campaign, teams will still be worried about playing us.”

While the Southampton loss was Town’s first in 12 in the league, 18th-placed Gillingham have only one win in the same number of games.

That was 1-0 at home to Bristol Rovers a fortnight ago, since when they have drawn 1-1 with Leyton Orient at Priestfield and lost 2-0 at Carlisle.

Mark Stimson’s side, promoted last season, are only two points above the relegation zone, and will be desperate for victory tomorrow.

They’re without right-back and captain Barry Fuller, who is out after breaking an arm during the Orient game.

Stimson, the former Grays and Stevenage manager who has been at the Priestfield helm since November 2007, must choose between Chris Palmer and Stuart Lewis as a replacement.

Former Wycombe, Walsall, Notts County and Derby man Palmer got the nod against Carlisle, but was replaced by Lewis after conceding a penalty.

Former Tottenham trainee Lewis, who had previously been made available for loan by Stimson, is a natural midfielder but played at right-back for a spell last season.

Top scorer for Gills is the Jamaican-born Canadian international Simeon Jackson, who has 15, including his side’s goal in their 2-1 defeat by Town at the Galpharm in December.

Signed from Rushden in January 2008, the 22-year-old has now bagged 40 goals for the club.

On-loan trio Darren Dennehy, the Cardiff centre-back, Chris Dickson, the Charlton frontman, and Rene Howe, the Peterborough forward, all featured in the starting side against Carlisle.

And Stimson is seeking a big improvement from his side.

“Some of the players’ performances (at Carlisle) I didn’t see coming,” he said.

“We had three good results and a couple of good training sessions in the week and to go and play like that, you think ‘where did that come from?’.

“It’s about players now having the bottle to show what they can do.

“It’s easy doing it on the training ground, but we want them to play the same way when there are a few people in the ground.”