Martin wants to add to promotion by clinching the title
Martin Allen revealed that he didn’t know what to do after the club sealed promotion to League One on Saturday.
Gillingham’s 1-0 win over Torquay at Priestfield was enough to clinch the necessary points to go up, and Martin struggled to put the achievement in to words.
He said: “It’s an amazing feeling, we couldn’t wait for the game to an end and between the three of us [John Schofield and Carl Muggleton] we had a hug and without these two it wouldn’t have happened.
“They have been absolutely fantastic – helping me, supporting me, looking after me and making sure we do things the right way from last July when we got together.
“It has been a team effort on and off the field – you have to mention the players that have played for us through the season on loan and some of those who have left.
“People like Ben Strevens, Lewis Montrose, Danny Jackman and Anton Robinson have all played their part. They have helped us three and helped our club.
“We’ve got proper men and we also have some young lads who have played in our team with plenty of energy and enthusiasm. We made changes again from last week, the team that played Rotherham and I’m sure nobody would have been able to guess the team we played today.
“I slept fine last night and had total faith in everybody in our squad – they just keep going and doing the job they need for our team.
“In the first half an hour I thought we were absolutely magnificent and we should have been three or four nil ahead.
“Going in to half time it did get a little bit edgy, quiet and nervy after such a fantastic first 30 minutes. And then the goal from Kedwell soon after half time was top, top quality and he deserves it because he has worked really hard at his game.
“He scored the first goal of our season against Bradford which was a quite brilliant goal when he chipped the goalkeeper from wide in the 18-yard box.
“It’s an amazing feeling, I don’t know what to do. I asked Scoy and Muggs the other day what are we going to do if we get promoted on Saturday night? We looked at each other and said we will probably be tired and relieved.
“I am tired, I am relieved but I can’t wait for next Saturday and the players decided a few weeks ago, infact we all did, the position that we are in, we must now aim to be champions.
“First and foremost it [the goal] was to get promoted and that’s the challenge we faced at the beginning of the season but the circumstances are that now we have a chance to win a Championship.
“The players decided that with the staff and it’s my job now to try and focus our players, especially myself, for the next challenge.
“We can do that, we are in a good position and now we have to make the very best of it.
To read our official match report click here.
To watch Martin’s post match press conference click here.
For the thoughts of Chairman Paul Scally click here.