Striker Elliott Nevitt felt the pain of Gillingham’s last match more than most – a game he’s keen to forget.
Nevitt had the chance to get a goal in front of the Rainham End with an injury-time penalty against Bromley. The Gills were already 3-0 down and he blazed the effort over the bar. Gillingham haven’t played since that defeat on January 2.
The miss extended his goalless run to 12 games and he hasn’t had a chance to make amends since, with a game at Chesterfield and a home fixture against Fleetwood called off during a freezing January, meaning it’s been a long wait to put things right.
The Gills return to action this Saturday at home to Doncaster Rovers (12.30pm).
“That was a tough game for everyone,” he recalled, having been asked about the match and the penalty miss.
“That game was a low point for the team, getting beat at home 3-0. We could and should have put a performance on that day and we just fell behind to sloppy goals.
“It was everyone collectively. It’s everyone’s fault. I feel like the second half was better. We had a few chances, but we just didn’t score.
“It was a tough day for me. I always put myself forward to take the pen and it didn’t go the way I wanted, but it’s football, isn’t it?
“I don’t think I’ll shy away from opportunities again. It’s just the way I am. I’ll always put my name forward.
“It was tough at the time but now hopefully it’s forgotten about and we can move forward.
“I feel like the whole team wants to prove a lot of people wrong. We believe we can be a top team. We’ve just got to perform and prove to people we can be a top team as well.
“I feel like all the lads are ready and it’s a big second half of the season now.
“We’ve all got dreams of what we want to do this season and I feel like now we need to start putting it together and really pushing on.”
Nevitt’s working with new boss John Coleman for the first time and hopes they can start putting into action what he’s been demanding of them.
He said: “Training’s been really intense, especially with not having a game in two weeks, training’s been really tough. I think that’s what we needed. We need to be game-ready come Saturday for Doncaster.
“They’ve got a way they want us to play and we’ve just got to adapt and perform in training and show them that we deserve to play in this team.
“Hopefully the results can prove what we’ve been trying to learn.
“You can tell straight away what he demands of players. High intensity, he wants you to work hard and he wants you to fight for every ball.
“When we get the ball, he wants us to play, which is good.
“I really like being on the front foot and getting after players and that’s what he wants.
“He wants us to be high energy and win the ball back as soon as we can.
“When it’s not going right, he’ll tell you, and for me, personally, I don’t mind getting told. I don’t want to be getting looked after all the time, I want to be told if I’m not doing stuff right. I think he’ll do that, so it’ll be good.”
