Gills skipper excited by long term project...
Adam Barrett says he is delighted to have committed his future to the club having signed a two-year contract extension.
His new deal keeps him at MEMS Priestfield until the end of the 2014/15 season and the centre-back is excited by the prospect of beginning a long-term project at the club.
Speaking exclusively to the club’s official website he said:
“I’m absolutely delighted – I’m really enjoying my football, I came here on a one-year deal and we’ve had a good start.
“Personally I’ve really enjoyed it, the club have approached me, I want to commit my future to the club and I’m committed to the start of a project and where we want to go.
“I want to be a big part of that, I’m back close to my family, I’m very proud to play here and I’m delighted that’s it all been agreed.
“I’m at the age and stage in my career where I still feel I have an awful lot to give and I think I have showed in my performances this season what I’m all about.
“Hopefully people have seen what I am as a player and I want to be a part of this club moving forward. I want to help the youngsters come through aswell but we are at the first stage of this project – we’ve got to get out of this division, it’s going to be difficult, we’ve had a great start but there is a long way to go.
“The gaffer is delighted to get the deal done, it’s been an honour to come in and captain the club and I’m very proud to do so. It’s just the start and we want to build and progress on this.
“The gaffer is so ambitious and is working extremely hard to make it happen and the players are feeding off that and we are going along with him and if I can help in any way that’s what I’m here to do.
“We want to kick on and I want to help Gillingham get to where the football club should be.”
The Gills are currently five points clear at the top of npower League Two, and Adam discussed how determined the squad are to stay top of the pile.
He said: “Very determined- when you are top of the table there is a different pressure because you’re there to be shot at. People are after you and they make it difficult for you when you go to away games, but as players it’s where you want to be.
“You have to drive yourself every day – the hunger and the ambition is there, the gaffer is outstanding at keeping the lads on their toes and pushing us every day.
“There is no better feeling than being top of the table; you ask any Gillingham fan or any player. It’s difficult staying there but we will do everything we can and we will work as hard as we can as we showed at Plymouth.
“Things were not quite going our way but we will fight and scrap and we are going to make sure we are top of this division and do everything we can to stay there.”
It was against Plymouth Argyle at Home Park where Barrett scored his first goal for the club with a bullet header late in the second half to earn the club a point, and he was pleased to get off the mark having had opportunities in other games.
He said: “I had a few half chances when I first came in and it was a bit of a goal drought for myself, I normally chip in with a few.
“It was obviously an important goal to give us the point, but more importantly I am here to defend. I’ve been delighted with our goals against record and clean sheets we have kept, that is what you pride yourself on as a defender.
“But if you can chip in with a few goals it’s a bonus and hopefully there are a few more to come.”
Barrett was the 16th member of the squad to score a goal for the club this season in all competition and he says it’s an impressive record which the team will want to add to.
He said: “That’s a fantastic record to have with players chipping in all over the place as you are not then relying on one or two centre forwards and it shows we have goals in the team.
“We’ve had full backs scoring and we are an attacking team and we look to go and win games so it’s very encouraging and long may that continue.”
Gillingham now have two home games coming up in the space of four days with Morecambe visiting MEMS Priestfield on Saturday before Exeter travel to Kent on Tuesday evening, and the defender believes it presents a good chance to extend the gap at the top of the league table.
He said: “We have two important home games now and we are looking forward to be being back home, we’ve enjoyed playing here this year and we want to get back to winning ways.
“We have had a couple of draws and if we can we want to take maximum points out of these two and take us into a period when we have a few away games.
“It will be tough, there is no two ways about it – teams will come here and make it difficult for us so we need to be patient but the way we have been playing and the quality we have in the squad if we play to our best then we should come away with three points Saturday.”