Gills new recruit looking to achieve big things...
Gills new signing Steven Gregory revealed that a late phone call from Martin Allen was enough to persuade him to join the club last week.
The 27-year-old central midfielder admitted he was close to signing elsewhere before signing an 18-month contract, but says he has made the right decision at the right time in his career.
Speaking after the game against Bristol Rovers, having made his debut from the substitute’s bench, said:
“There were a couple of teams I had spoken to and I met a few managers and I was ready to make a decision and sign somewhere.
“It’s crazy, football is a crazy thing. One minute you are going somewhere and the next you are going somewhere else.
“I knew I wasn’t going back to Bournemouth, that was made very clear when I was at Wimbledon on loan so I tried to block that out and I knew my loan finished on December 15 so I had a good two weeks to sort out where I would be going.
“The gaffer rang me one evening to tell me he was interested in taking me and literally a couple of days later I was signing.
“I had a number of conversations with him; the club is top of the league and going forward. It’s ambitious and so am I so we got a deal agreed and it was fairly straight forward.”
Martin said he decided to try and sign the midfielder after he had seen him play in the FA Cup tie between MK Dons and AFC Wimbledon, and Steven said he was unaware that the Gills Manager was watching him.
He said: “The week leading up to that game was unbelievable with the press that were involved in it. I was lucky enough to be Captain that day which was a big honour for me having been at Wimbledon for a few years.
“I didn’t know if anything would come from that game, I was just concentrating on giving a good performance but luckily enough it has resulted in this.
“I just tried to play my best for Wimbledon and if I had ended up going back there then that’s fine as I love that place but I want to be successful and push on so I think it was the right decision for me.”
Gregory admitted he had a rather hectic opening half to the season, but is now happy to have signed a contract at Priestfield and is relishing the competition for places.
He said: “I have played for three clubs this season already – Bournemouth, Wimbledon and Gillingham so it’s been a roller coaster season but it’s nice to get settled, I’m here for 18 months now which is nice and it will be good to get settled, get to know the lads a bit better and be successful.
“There is competition for places so you want that – you are disappointed when you are left out but that just makes you try that bit harder in training and out on the pitch and it means when you are playing you have to do your best so I think that’s a positive.”
Martin told the press after the game that there is a clause in Steven’s contract that will give him an extra year at the club should he play a certain amount of games next season, however the player said he wasn’t concerned about that as his goal is to play every game anyway.
He said: “I’m like any player; I want to play every game so it didn’t matter to me that clause being in there. I want to play 100% of the games, I will be looking to play every game but it could turn out I am here for an extra year.
“You can never expect things but that is why I have come here because I want to be successful here and be part of a successful team so I have come here to look to get promotion this season and push for the play-offs or get promotion next season too.”
Steven could make his home debut this weekend when Gills take on second placed Port Vale, and the midfielder is looking forward to the game.
He said: “We have spoken about it already, we wanted three points from this game and then we will gear the whole week towards that game next weekend. I am really looking forward to it, it should be a great atmosphere, hopefully I will get my home debut and get three points.”