Changes could be on the cards for Gillingham after their weekend disappointment.

Gills boss Gareth Ainsworth named the same starting eleven at Accrington that beat Rotherham United 4-1 a fortnight ago. Once again, they went a goal down, but there was no fightback this time.

The Gills lost 3-1, and the scoreline could have been worse. Ainsworth was at a loss to explain why there had been such a drop-off in performance levels.

Gillingham didn’t have a shot on target at Accrington – their only goal coming from an own goal – and Ainsworth’s side were well behind on almost every attacking stat.

Ainsworth isn’t short of players waiting in the wings, and he must now decide whether to give others a chance.

“There may be a couple of changes,” he said.

“I thought Jack [Daley] did alright (after coming on for Logan Dobbs).

“Logan had a bit of a dodgy start. [Accrington forward] Tyler Walton's a very experienced player, quite solid and everything and Logan's still learning his trade.

“I'll back him all day but I think Tyler probably got the better of him in that first period.

“It should be a big game; it’s on TV and everything. I've told the boys, places are up for grabs, let's see what we can do.”

Ainsworth might also bring Conor McManus back into the team after leaving him out on Saturday. The 22-year-old hasn’t featured since returning from international duty but travelled to Accrington without being called upon.

That could mean pushing James Brophy back into a more attacking role.

Ainsworth couldn’t get a tune out of his side on Saturday despite trying formation changes and using all his available substitutes. If anything, Accrington grew in confidence as the game wore on.

The manager said: “We'll have to have a look at that on Tuesday and see if it's a change of personnel again because some of them looked a little bit out of sorts.

“Some of the boys looked quite leggy to me and we've got to make sure that we keep these fitness levels up.

“We want to finish the game strong and put it on teams. We didn't put it on Accy at all but fair play to them.

“As a whole unit, we didn't look good enough and now I'm thinking that it's a blip, I'm hoping it's a blip, we'll find out on Tuesday.”

Port Vale were relegated back down to League Two last season and picked up just two points from their first five games.

Since then, they’ve won three of their last four games. They head to Priestfield sitting 21st in the League Two table but they have two games in hand over the Gills and are just five points worse off.

Former Gills captain Kyle Dempsey was a player Ainsworth picked out as one to watch ahead of Vale’s visit.

Ainsworth said: “We've been good at home. I'm sure that the place will be packed, it's Tuesday night under the lights, it's on TV, a great opportunity for the boys to put everything right.

“But they'll have some tough people in there, they've got Dempsey in midfield, he's a tough tackler, he's going to win battles in there.

“Have we got someone who can stand up to him? I hope so, we'll see what happens and that's what we'll be preparing for on Tuesday.”