Boss delighted as Gills return to the top of the league with impressive win over Bury
Justin Edinburgh heaped praise on his Gillingham squad following a fine team display which saw them return to the top of Sky Bet League One on Saturday.
The Gills came from behind to defeat Bury 3-1 at MEMS Priestfield Stadium thanks to goals from John Egan, Emmanuel Osadebe and debutant Dominic Samuel.
Gills had suffered three straight defeats before the win and the Manager was quick to give credit after a convincing performance.
He said: “I thought we started the game well; I felt for players to have fallen behind. That’s a part of this group growing up; the setback didn’t rock us. Within minutes we were back in it.
"Overall, the performance was very good. Over the last 10 days we probably lost our spark but had it back today.”
Edinburgh said he understood that some supporters may have had concerns after recent defeats but wanted to stress how well the players responded.
He added: “I don’t want people to lose sight of what we’re trying to do here: getting those performances week in, week out. I think people can see the youthfulness and the desire of the players today in one of the main games in the division.
“We've had one blip in 40 games since I've been here. We're six games away from the halfway mark in this league, and barring disaster, we're going to be in the top six. That's a fantastic achievement for this group.”
As for debutant Samuel, Justin was pleased with what the striker had to offer and is pleased to have him on board.
He added: “He was very good; he was a focal point for us. He kept the ball, made us compact, allowed us to get people into areas. We knew the impact he made at Coventry and we wanted that here today.
“We knew that he was in Reading’s plans and was involved in their first two Championship games. He got injured and he’s come back on our radar over the last two weeks and the opportunity came to secure him for a month.”
David Flitcroft added: "I’m extremely disappointed. To go one up, against one of the top teams in the league, we didn’t protect our lead well enough. I’m disappointed with the two goals, the timescale [between them]. They’re really soft goals."