Jayden Clarke was pleased to see his returning teammates get through the 2-1 loss to Peterborough United unscathed in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy on Tuesday.
He saw many positives in the overall performance from the side in a game that Bradley Dack made his Gillingham return, playing in the first-half.
With many first-team players returning and three academy products starting, Clarke believes that it showed the togetherness in the team, highlighting their understanding of their roles.
Gills will travel to Doncaster Rovers at the weekend, and the 23-year-old is expecting another tough test against the form side of 2024.
The positives in the game...
I think that in the first-half, we played really well. In the second-half, we played well as well. I think that we conceded against the run of play in the first-half, but there were a lot of positives.
There were a lot of people coming back from injury and getting minutes and coming through that as well, as far as I know. It's really good for the squad, and as you know, there have been a lot of injuries. It's good to get some players back and to get some minutes in their legs.
His personal game...
There is still more to come from myself. I am just trying to find my feet, but I need to start trying to get more goals and assists and to really nail down my place. That is what I am going to try and do.
I feel like I have been good off the ball, and my defensive duties have been good. I want to start doing more going forward. Creating chances, scoring and assisting. That's my main aim at the moment.
Team cohesion...
I think that everyone is together in this. I think that everyone, whether they are or aren't playing, understands their job. If you're not playing, they're still within the group seeing how we operate, so it's not as hard for them to come in and do their job. There's a real togetherness in the team at the moment, and we just need to continue that.
Looking to Doncaster Rovers at the weekend...
Every game in this league is a big game. You need to be ready for whoever you're playing against. Doncaster is going to be another tough game. They were really good at the end of last year and have started well again, so we need to be ready and to play our game. Hopefully, we come away with a result.
