Max Ehmer became just the fourteenth player in the history of Gillingham to make three hundred and fifty appearances for the club in Easter Monday’s defeat to Northampton Town.

The thirty-one-year-old German central defender first arrived at Priestfield on loan in November 2014 and spoke to KSN this week about his achievement.

“I didn’t really think about being at one club so long when I was growing up to be honest, you aim to be a professional footballer and before you know it, you just want your debut, and then ten games, then twenty and so on.”

“After the first season or so, when you’ve played every game, you realise that you just want to play as many games as you can,” Ehmer told us, “and then before you know where you are it’s one hundred and fifty appearances later!”

“I still want to keep going – I’d love to make four hundred games for Gillingham – and I know when I get there, I’ll want to get to five hundred hopefully!”

“It’s not something that I thought about on day one, but now it’s something I want to keep and take the number up and up and up!”

Ehmer’s next “targets” in the appearance list as he looks to extend his run are Dennis Hunt – a defender who spent the 1960s at Priestfield – with 355 appearances: the ever-popular Irishman Damien Richardson with 357, and “Mr Gillingham” Andy Hessenthaler’s 363…

“I know that Hessie is just ahead of me,” Ehmer joked, “I want to catch him! Some of those on the list I don’t know being from an “older generation”. I do take it game by game – if I get to Hessie, I get to Hessie, and if I get above him then I get above that, then great.”

“I’ve just to keep putting in the performances to make sure that I keep getting picked.”

Saturday could see appearance number 351 as Stockport County come to Priestfield – a team that Ehmer holds as one of the best in League Two this season.

“They’re a group that has now been together for a few years now, and I think that when we went there a few weeks ago, we went up there I think in a 5-4-1 formation but they were a really well drilled side and have the players, the infrastructure, the stadium and in terms of the sides that we’ve faced this season, they are certainly right up there with the best teams, if they’re not THE best team.”

“It’ll be a tough game, but here at Priestfield now we don’t fear anyone!”

“We’ve put in enough home performances since Christmas now – winning eight out of nine – that teams are now scared to come here. We haven’t been excellent through the ninety minutes of every game, but I think that we still stick in there when we’re not playing well – whether it’s first half or second half, we stick in there and make sure that we take them to a battle and then second half kicking towards the Rainham End, we seem to score the goals, and we’ve just got to make sure we keep doing that!”

“The whole stadium has been incredible since Christmas and so I just hope that they keep coming out and supporting us the way that they have done…”