Gillingham coach Stephen Clemence is confident that striker Josh Andrews will make his mark at the club after finally giving him his debut on Saturday.
There was excitement when the big striker signed from Birmingham City at the end of the January transfer window – but that soon led to disappointment as he picked up a muscle strain just after recovering from an injury that he was already carrying when signing for the Gills.
Andrews came off the bench at Morecambe on 79 minutes to replace Oli Hawkins in attack. It was his first league appearance since picking up a hip injury while playing on loan at Accrington on December 9.
“It was great to have him out there,” said relieved boss Stephen Clemence, who had also lost January signing Jorge Hurtado to injury.
“That was his first 15-20 minutes and I couldn’t really have given him any more, we don’t want to risk him getting injured (again).
“I have to listen to the medical people and the sports science people around me and that was his limit.
“He came on like all of the other substitutes and made a difference.”
The Gills were 2-1 down when Clemence started to introduce his substitutes. An enforced change had come earlier when Jonny Williams went off with a knock – one which will have to be assessed before the Good Friday game against Crewe.
On Andrews’ introduction, Clemence said: “You could see when he went on he covers the ground quite well and gets around the pitch, he is a handful and brings people into play and he is going to be a good player for the football club.”
On Williams’ injury, Clemence added: “He has got a slight knock…hopefully it won’t be too bad. He is not someone I want to lose.”
