Manager Mark Bonner has insisted that returning Gillingham midfielder Bradley Dack is back for the right reasons.
The Gills landed a transfer coup on Thursday by luring 30-year-old Dack back to Priestfield after spells in the Championship with Blackburn and Sunderland.
After struggling with injuries in recent years, Dack isn’t here just to see out his career according to the Gills boss.
“There’s a few boxes to tick,” stressed Bonner. “There’s the physical one of what can we get out of him, how can we get him going, how fit can we get him and how many games can we get him available for?
“The second side of it is, is there a hunger there that is still burning? I’m not sure there’s many other clubs at this level that would have got him to play for them.
“But when I look in his eyes, I see someone that’s desperate to win and desperate to be here and desperate to make sure it’s not a come home, end of your career, sign off nicely. He’s come to make a difference and be a success.
“That’s really important because we want drive and desire and ambition but we also want the personality that it takes.
“I think he’s got all of those things. I’m really excited to see us somewhere down the line with him in our team with the others around him because I think he can create chances and score goals at this level, no question, and be a really big player for us throughout the season.
“He’s going to be a bit of time, it will be four to six weeks before we see him really impacting the team so don’t ask me every week how’s he getting along! He’ll be working hard training to get ready.
“But we know four to six weeks down the line, we hope him, Elliott Nevitt, Josh Andrews and Ethan Coleman will all be like new signings for us at that point. If we can be in a good position at that point and chip away and get some good results, that will really strengthen our squad so we’re really excited about that.”
Dack’s return is one of the biggest transfers of the window in League 2.
It’s a sign of intent by club owners Brad and Shannon Galinson and Bonner says their commitment is there for all to see.
“That can’t be doubted, can it?” said Bonner. “In the last couple of years that’s so apparent, so easy to see. I just felt it from day one, Brad and Shannon are different class.
“If I was a fan of this club I would be so happy and so excited that they’re driving the football club, I really would. They’ve been great for me, great for the team, constantly backing us to try and make us stronger and that’s what we’re trying to do.
“We’re trying to build something together, there’s a nice togetherness bubbling away, the unity is building within the team, they’ll build with the supporters even more so and I think Brad can come in and really help that.
“It’s the sort of signing that when he gets going, he’ll make players better. We have to keep raising the bar to the players that are here, we’re going to continually keep trying to get better, in this window, in January, next summer.
“We’re just going to keep striving to build a better team and improve. It’s up for everyone to keep up with that but also be excited by it.”
