Possession football could be the way forward for Gillingham and weekend visitors Notts County do it best in League 2.

Gillingham’s new way forward could look to replicate that of the Magpies, who top the division in terms of possession, with an average of 60% time on the ball. Until last weekend they topped the table too.

More: Millen speaks out after Walsall nightmare

Chairman Brad Galinson, who is heading back to England next week to speak with managerial candidates, pointed to his own team’s possession and pass accuracy at Walsall, stating that “We’re doing the things we need to do. We’ll get there.”

Interim manager Keith Millen has been keen to see the team adopt a more possession-based approach but as his men found out last weekend, it doesn’t always bring results. Both the Gills and Notts County lost their respective games 4-1.

Millen said: “I get what the chairman is saying, as in the trend going forward. It might not be perfect straight away but can we get that trend going, maybe more possession? A higher xG? Over a longer period that wins you football matches.

“I have probably tweaked it a little bit. I have got to be careful I don’t dismantle all of the good stuff that they have already done (under previous manager Neil Harris) because there is a lot of good stuff.

“I want us to remain hard to beat, defensively solid, that is what the basis of the success has been so far, and my take on the possession side is, you look at the opposition and try and work out the best way of hurting them. My job is to look at them and say what I want us to do.

“There is not a right or wrong, just the best style to beat the opposition. My job is to get the balance right between the two.”

With Mr Galinson talking of team evolution and the club looking to “go in a different direction” following Harris’ dismissal, the Notts County brand of football could be the one.

Swindon Town and Crawley aren’t far behind Notts County in possession stats. The Gills head to the County Ground on Tuesday night, where Mr Galinson is expected to be back in attendance.

Millen is a fan of the possession game but any new manager will have to get the best out of the players already at the club.

He said: “I think it is a style that wins football matches, without a doubt.

“You look at Notts County, they are probably one of the best possession teams in the league but they have conceded a lot of goals as well.

“It is that balance of what you need to do to win a match.

“A lot of it depends on the profiling of players. Neil was a manager who put a good squad together around how he likes to play. Sometimes when you change the manager and the manager might change the style, first thing you need to do is look at the profile of the players you are inheriting and are they capable of doing what you want? That will be a big decision.

“There are a lot of good things going on at this club, on and off the grass, it certainly doesn’t need to be ripped up and started again that’s for sure.

“Whoever comes in will look at the squad and think they are very good at this and can we do this slightly different, depending on what players are available.”

Millen will remain in charge on Saturday and almost certainly for the midweek trip to Swindon. If the interview process goes well, the Gills might be in a position to name a new manager ahead of the Newport County home game on Saturday, October 28.

The interim boss is expecting to be in charge for the next two games. Once a new manager is in place, Millen can then discuss where he fits in, if at all.

He said: “That is my thought process, without a doubt, that I have Saturday and there is a quick turnaround for Tuesday, another tough game at Swindon, similar to Notts County, slightly different in the way they play the formation but certainly a possession-based side.

“I am looking forward to both games, a good challenge for us and the players are up for it.

“After Saturday (a 4-1 loss at Walsall) hopefully we get a good performance and a result and then think about our away form, which hasn’t been great recently.

“They (Notts) have had some big scorelines this year and you can see why, they are an expansive team, they are very good with the ball and we have done a lot of work on what they do and then hopefully we can punish them in areas we feel they might be vulnerable.

“There is a respect for them, but we are at home. I will remind the players that our home form has been really good.

“For me, it is getting a balance of the clean sheets, that mentality of being hard to beat and also how we can punish them with the ball, that is my job to present that to the players.

“These are the games you really should be looking forward to. It’s a big event for them, their 5,000th league game, they are putting on free travel and I would imagine a big crowd, a cracking atmosphere.

“They are a good footballing side, they score goals, they concede goals and we have done a lot of work this week. I was very conscious that we had to move on pretty quickly on Monday, to put last Saturday to bed, and then all week looking towards this game.

“It is a big game for a lot of reasons, we are both near the top of the league, we know what to expect from them, we need to make sure we compete and hopefully cause them some problems.”

Gillingham have right-back Cheye Alexander back from international duty on Saturday while left-back Scott Malone also returns after serving a one-game ban.

A blow for the Gills is that central defender Shad Ogie picked up his fifth booking in the league late on against Walsall last weekend, which means he misses Saturday’s game through suspension.

Robbie McKenzie is a doubt after only lasting 45 minutes at Walsall while Shaun Williams (knee) was taken off after less than an hour.

“They were both more injuries than anything,” Millen confirmed.

Midfielder Tim Dieng is working his way back from injury but is unlikely to be involved this weekend while striker Ashley Nadesan is “weeks rather than days” away from returning but there’s good news that his ankle injury doesn’t require surgery.