On loan defender eager to make impression at Priestfield
Gills new signing Donervon Daniels says he is relishing the challenge of playing in League One again.The centre-back, who signed on a short term loan deal from West Brom on Monday, goes straight in to the squad for Tuesday’s game against Stevenage at MEMS Priestfield Stadium, and he is looking forward to showing what he can do.
Speaking exclusively to the club’s official website he said:
“I’m looking to get out there, make myself proud and make the club proud and get a good run of games for a big club like Gillingham.
“Hopefully we will win the game and the three points are very important.
“I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t good enough, I’m going to enjoy it because competition is good for performances. Knowing somebody is behind you waiting for a slip up you can’t make easy mistakes – you have to be strong.
“I worked with Peter at the England U20 World Cup camp in the summer so I know how he works. During training I knew what type of stuff he would want so it kind of all falls together.
“He is a good Manager; he tries to instil confidence in his players and shows them what he would want because he knows what the fans want. I’m looking forward to working with him and enjoying the experience.”
His move, as he explained, came around rather quickly and his birthday celebrations were interrupted to inform him the move had gone through.
He added: “It was pretty hectic, I was out having a meal and I got a phone call around seven o’clock saying that the move might go through because I knew there was a possibility I could be coming here and I was really looking forward to it.
“There was a bit of shock that it did come about, everything was just rushed and I got down here about quarter past twelve and it was pretty decent, it made it eventful and it was fun.
“I trained on Monday with the boys [at West Brom], we had a game on Tuesday but now I’m here and have trained.
“Last year was a good year, I made my official League One debut with a good club in Tranmere Rovers and I know what is expected.”
Despite the weekend’s defeat to Oldham, Donervon said the mood in the camp is still bright and the squad are determined to put on a show for the supporters.
He added: “It was a good first training session having met the lads and enjoying some banter.
“The gaffer was saying it wasn’t the best of performances Saturday but he has told us to get that out of our heads and look forward to Stevenage as it’s a big game for us and we believe we can take some points away from it.
“I had a little chat with him, he just told me to go out and do what we had spoken about in terms of playing my best and being confident and competitive.
“The boys are happy; there is a buzz around the place to put in a performance not just for themselves, but for the fans and for the gaffer.”
The defender said he wants to make an impression to prove to his parent club that he is capable of making the step up if required, and went on to describe what sort of game he is expecting from Stevenage.
He added: “I’ve been at West Brom since U16, played in the youth team and in the U21’s for about four years. I’ve been in and around the first team – when the gaffer needs me he puts me in the sessions but its opportunities like these that I really needed to show him that I am ready, if he does ever need me in a game, to put me in there.
“I’m a big, strong confident centre half that can play other positions but my main position is centre-back. I’m comfortable on the ball, I can hit a nice pass and I’ve got decent pace.
“I’m expecting it to be a physical game [against Stevenage], I’m expecting them to come at us but we are physical too in terms of size and we will give as good as we get. They will try to be direct but we can deal with it if we do what we have been talking about in training.”
Watch Donervon’s interview in full on Gills Player.