Gillingham penalty hero Max Clark insists the team aren’t looking beyond their next challenge after a super start to the campaign.
Clark scored in stoppage time at Bromley to preserve Gillingham’s unbeaten start to the season and maintain their place at the top of the League 2 table.
The defender has been with the club since the summer of 2023, joining after winning promotion with Stevenage, and knows all too well what can happen if that early-season form starts to fade.
Gillingham have topped the table early on during the past two seasons before finishing 11th in 2023/24 and 17th in the last campaign.
A 2-2 draw at Bromley, from 2-0 down inside 12 minutes, made it seven without loss at the start of the new season – and now 16 games unbeaten since manager Gareth Ainsworth took charge towards the end of last season.
It’s going well so far, but Clark said: “It’s so early, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
“We just want to go out there and enjoy playing together, putting things that we’ve practised in pre-season out there.
“Every game is a different task. It was more of a fight in there [at Bromley] and this week against Notts County they will look to come and play and we’ll address that.
“With this gaffer, he won’t ever let you get too far ahead of yourself. It doesn’t matter where you are in the league now.
“We’re still learning, still developing and still putting what he wants on out there.
“We’re not going ahead of ourselves. We’re too early on in the season and we know that.
“We’ve got a great group of lads in there that won’t ever let anyone rest.”
League 2 table
The Gills had to fight to the finish at Bromley having conceded twice early on. Josh Andrews pulled a goal back in the second half and Clark converted in the 98th-minute to level it up.
Clark said: “Since the gaffer’s been in, we just keep fighting for each other.
“We back each other and we just keep going until the end. That’s the spirit in the group.
“[Saturday’s result] showed the real character we have in the group and the experience as well. The new boys coming in are going to add some great quality.
“We’ll never stop believing this season. Every game has different challenges. When we’re out there, we just back each other.
“Luckily, if someone’s having a bad time out there, we’ll just get our arm around them and back them up. That’s what it’s going to be this season. It wasn’t just the 18 that was involved, it’s the full squad.
“We’ve got a great group of lads, great staff. I think you’re seeing that this season. We’re fighting for each other.”
Clark admits there will be lessons learned from how they started against Bromley.
“First half, we were disappointed,” he said.
“Yes, we were 2-0 down, but we always believed. I think that’s the most important thing.
“The gaffer backed us. That’s what he does. He backs us all the time. As a player, it’s refreshing having a gaffer who has your back all the time. We have his back as well.
“We were absolutely buzzing to have gone away [from Bromley] with a point, but there’s so much we have to learn from the first half. We’ll put things right.”
