Zane Albarus is continuing to build his fitness and sharpness as he and Gillingham prepare for Saturday's game at Colchester United.
The young midfielder made his return to action in the Premier League U21 Cup, where he played 45 minutes, before playing an hour at Northampton in the Jersey Mike's Trophy on Tuesday night. Albarus enjoyed the experience of playing in the U21 Cup, and was impressed with how the young Gills side acquitted themselves.
Albarus discussed his combative playing style, and how his last two appearances were good learning curves in knowing when to commit to a challenge.
The 20-year-old touched on his experience of playing away from home since he joined the club, and talked about the players who have helped him settle into the dressing room.
Playing in the Premier League U21 Cup as he worked his way back to fitness...
I think that it was actually a really good experience in general for me because it was just last season, when I was playing 21s football and from that to playing first-team football at the start of this season, before I got injured, I could really tell the difference between what senior football is and 21s football.
For me, I feel that on a personal note I needed to build up my fitness and build my sharpness up. It was a perfect game for me, and I actually really enjoyed it. The young lads really played well in that game. It was a really young squad, with a few scholars playing as well. It was a great game.
His combative playing style, and knowing when to put a tackle in...
It kind of suits my game in that way, being able to put in a challenge and not being able to back out of duels. That is my game. That side of things, it has been a smooth transition, I would say (from under-21 football to senior football).
If anything, I probably learnt that within the 45 minutes that I played in the under-21s game, and then even in the 60 minutes that I played against Northampton. I feel like the amount of fouls that I gave away were a lot less in comparison in those two games, but still being able to have that edge about me and being able to put a tackle in, and knowing when and when not to.
Playing away from home...
Even against Northampton, we had 70 fans come and watch us. It was nice to qualify for another round as well, but we do well away, considering the travelling and everything. All of those factors don't even matter. We have the fans backing us, and we are just focused on performing the best that we can.
This weekend, luckily, I don't think that we have to travel the day before, but we will see what the plans are. It's nice, as we have our roommates and everything, but I have not been on an away trip since the unfortunate York game, so it has been a while. I will hopefully be getting back to the gist of it when I get back in.
Who helped him settle into the dressing room...
There are a few, to be fair. Obviously, Omar Beckles and Liam Gordon, even though he was joining at the same time. I would say it was those two that were the biggest of the senior players, but it has honestly been all of them. I have learnt a lot from the midfielders like Litts [Armani Little], Robbie McKenzie and Ethan Coleman as well. I have learnt a lot from all of them.
