Gillingham skipper Kyle Dempsey is hoping that his first goal of the season at the University of Bolton Stadium last weekend will just be the start of his scoring for this season.

Dempsey himself scored a winner against Accrington Stanley last season – albeit in Lancashire – and after his goal last weekend, the Gills skipper is hoping more will follow.

“I’ve said in interviews before that once I get one hopefully more will come along,” he explained. “Took the chance really well on Saturday and I think that looking back over the games that we’ve played, I’m unlucky not to have three or four already especially the “own goal” against Charlton. But now I’ve broken my duck, it lifted a certain weight off my shoulders, and I can go out there and concentrate on the games ahead – starting with Saturday – and hopefully I’ll be able to get another goal and three points.”

The Gills sit just outside the bottom four of League One and Dempsey admitted it’s been a difficult start for his side. “It’s been a tough one for us this year,” he told us, “we’ve never really had a full squad to pick from; we’ve never really had a run of starting the same eleven players so with the different personnel coming in, it has been difficult.

“You can look at some squads around the League that have been bringing in one player to freshen things up, but for us it’s been injuries keeping people out. But now we’re starting to get bodies back, I do think that you’ll see us now kick on and start climbing up the table – we know that the quality is there, we’ve all just got to keep believing and start getting the three points on the board.”

“We’re all focused for Saturday – we’ve had good sessions this week with good positive energy and hopefully we’ll get the three points. It’s always going to be a physical game against Accrington – I’ve played against them many times during my career and have never had an easy ride against them! In the games we had against them last year, they were both really tough contests so If we can repeat the performance we put in last Saturday as a team.”

He went on, “it has been difficult at times this year as skipper, but the group of lads that we’ve got down there (in the dressing room) are top quality and have lifted each other up every single week – they really have been top quality ever since I first stepped foot in the building.

“We know the qualities that we have in the dressing room and now we’ve got to start working harder than ever to start climbing up the table to get where we actually want to be! Sometimes we just need to be a bit smarter to see games out with last Saturday an example.

“Last season we would have just shut the door, but I do think that once we put a run of results together like we did last year, I do think things will really take off and we wills start climbing up the League!”

Image courtesy of Gillingham FC