Jayden Clarke says that the squad are relieved following an important win at home to league leaders Port Vale, the three points see the Gills sit one point outside of the play-offs heading into a two week break in the league.
Clarke says that the team must build on this result and keep the run of momentum going, all whilst looking ahead to a Bristol Street Motors Trophy fixture on Tuesday away to Stevenage.
In a game which produced very few chances, the three points went in favour of the Gills. Clarke admitted there was a sense of relief in the changing room following the final whistle but will now look ahead to Tuesday night’s fixture.
Jayden’s header in the 79th minute, following a cross from Conor Masterson, proved the difference between the sides.
Jayden spoke to the media following the game:
Reflecting on the performance:
“The feeling in the changing room is relief at the moment, it's been a while since we have won a game. It’s deserved and I'm just happy we got the win.
“We have wanted this for a while, we have to build on that now and start a run. I didn't feel they were troubling us throughout the game, Jake Turner barely had a save to make.”
The winning header:
“It was a quick throw from Jack (Nolan) to Conor (Masterson) who i knew would cross the ball, i wasn’t expecting it to come to me but before I knew it the ball was at my head.
“I was able to set myself free a little bit and just guided it towards the goal. It felt like it was in slow motion as I was just waiting and waiting for the ball to go in.
“It's good that I'm scoring, I worked on that in the off season and it's paying off so I'm happy. I got myself into better shape and i am playing more consistent, it’s the best i have felt physically and that shows on the pitch, I will try to carry on and see where it takes me.”
Going forwards:
“We are confident going into every game to be honest, even when we were losing the mood in the camp was still high. Going forwards it looks really positive with different players coming back and that helps in our preparations for Harrogate.
“We have two full weeks now of training before our next game in the league, in which we can look to implement the players coming back. Hopefully Josh (Andrews) stays fit as well, as we have seen he is a handful.
“It’s good that we have something on the game Tuesday, not sure how many goals we need to win by but we are going to go there and try to win.”