Tom Eaves may be in the latter stages of his career but the Gillingham striker insists he still has the fire in his belly to achieve something at Priestfield.
The 34-year-old returned to the Gills seven years after leaving following a successful two-season spell in which he scored 40 goals.
He has netted twice in six appearances since his return and is determined to help Gareth Ainsworth’s side make progress this season.
He said: “I’m very much an all or nothing person, which is quite extreme in personality, which is good and absolutely dreadful in ways. I’m either all in or nothing, and I’m all in right now, I’m completely all in and just fired up and ready to kick on.
“I think we’ve got a group here that can achieve something. I genuinely, genuinely believe that under Gareth [Ainsworth].
“I feel great in my body. My body’s not letting me down anytime soon.”
Eaves acknowledges that his age and experience make him a player younger team-mates can look up to and learn from.
He is happy to take on that role on and off the pitch but remains determined to play regularly and make his own contribution.
He said: “I think that’s something I definitely have to do, and any knowledge I can pass on to any of the other players and strikers, I’ll definitely do that because I probably wish I had had that more growing up, which I didn’t really have too much. It was very much dog eat dog, but don’t get me wrong; I’m competitive as well.
“I want to play, I want to start every game as well. I’m still there, I’m still at that stage; I don’t feel like I want to slow down at any point.
“I’m here to play and score and put pressure, give the manager a headache. I don’t just want to be a bit-part player and come on [for the] last 15 minutes, even though I’m happy to play however the manager wants to utilise me, but my priority would be to start and push for that. I’ll definitely be helping as many of the young pros as much as I can.”
Eaves has made one league start in five league appearances since his return and, while he feels in good shape, admits he is still working towards peak match fitness.
He believes he needs more minutes on the pitch to get back into the rhythm of playing regularly.
He said: “If you put me on a treadmill, I’d run all day, but match fitness in the sense of getting into your good habits, your little nudges, your timing of your headers, I still feel like I need a few more 90s in the tank to get to there.
“It was my first start [against Port Vale] in about four or five months, so I won’t be too harsh on myself.”
Eaves is enjoying being back at a club he regards as having reignited his career when he first joined in the summer of 2017.
He has already received a warm welcome from supporters and is keen to repay that faith.
He said: “It’s great to be back and I had such a great reception from the fans when I came back and that was really warming, so hopefully I can repay the favour. I’m looking forward to get going and playing as much as I can.”
Eaves had other options before joining Gillingham, with weekend opponents Shrewsbury Town reportedly among the clubs to have shown an interest.
But the opportunity to return to Priestfield was too good to turn down after a period of uncertainty over his next move.
He said: “It was just like a rollercoaster [in the summer] because one minute you’re looking at houses in one city and you think the deal’s done and then it collapses, it falls through and that happened a few times, and I suppose that’s just part and parcel with the lifestyle of playing professional football, but it’s good to be back, it’s good to have familiar faces.
“It’s a great squad as well; it’s a really good squad and a talented squad. I think we can, dare I say it again, but I think we’ve got a group that can achieve something good this year.
“It’s funny isn’t it, because in times of uncertainty people tend to go back to what they know and it certainly feels that way with myself.
“There was a lot of uncertainty and then I had the chat with [head of recruitment Andy Hessenthaler] Hess and it just felt right, it felt right at the time and we managed to agree something and get going.
“There was familiar faces, the club’s actually changed quite a bit in terms of the structure and obviously for the better as well.
“There’s a lot of good stuff going on, which is great to see, with the familiarity of the Rainham End as well and it’s great to hear them roar.”
