Gillingham defender Alfie Jones says it was an easy decision to join the club on loan as soon as he heard of the interest.

“With the gaffer and the club and the coaching staff, they only had good aspirations for the future” said Jones.

“It was a no brainer really to come here.”

“Speaking with the gaffer, the way he wants to play, the objectives he has for the season – I wanted to be a part of that and settle in here.”

The 21-year-old is coming off the back of a loan spell in Scotland with St. Mirren, and says it was a move that helped him a lot, but now he wants to play games in England.

“Being at Southampton it was (under) 23’s football, academy football. Coming here it’s more physical.

“I had that loan spell in Scotland which was good. It opened my eyes to the real world of football and how brutal it is.

“It’s the men’s game now so it’s a lot more physical, and that’s the step I need.

“At my age game time is important, and getting that experience is very important for me so I’m looking to take that next step on.

“I’m looking to put my foot into English league football now and I know there are a lot of good teams in this league. It’s a high paced league so I look forward to getting going.”

After seeing bits of Gillingham last season, Jones is confident the side can push on this term after six years in League One.

“It’s a club that’s a strong stable club in League One now so hopefully we can push on this season and push up the table” said the centre back.

“The performances we’ve put in over pre-season have been good and it’s given the lads a lift. We’ve still got a lot to improve on but all in all we’ve got confidence going in towards the season.

“After last season we want to push as high up the table as possible, sort of around the play-offs and even further maybe.

“We set high targets so we can work towards them and I feel like we’ve got a good bunch of lads and can do that, so it’s about going out and doing it on a Saturday now.”

The young defender is enjoying life in a new defensive unit and feels the experience of the likes of fellow defenders Barry Fuller and Max Ehmer has helped him already.

“(They are) all good lads, all good players. It’s good to work with day in day out and learn off each other. We look forward to playing together.

“It’s good to have that experience next to me – you can take a lot from it and learn a lot from it so hopefully I can slot in nicely.”.

Jones is raring to fight the competition to get in the starting 11 at Priestfield.

“I know there’s a lot of competition there and it’s going to be a tough ride to get in that team, so I’ll keep working hard and try and get my way in.

“You always need that competition to keep you on your toes and keep pushing each other, so when you’re in there you’ve got to keep hold of the shirt and that starting place.”

In terms of pre-season so far, Jones feels it’s been positive – particularly the fixtures against Charlton and Millwall.

“Millwall is a physical test, they’re quite a direct team. I think we dealt with that in certain aspects but at times we didn’t and that’s cost us” Jones added.

“Charlton was a different test – a bit less physical. They like to play, and we got at them.”

“Millwall are known for being direct and physical and it was a battle which was good and a good learning curve for me so I can take a lot from (the) game.

“It’s important to get the minutes in before the season so it’s good to get the game time, good to get in and around the lads and put what we work on in the training ground on the pitch, so all in all it’s been good.”

“I’m getting there slowly. I feel fit, I feel strong, so raring to go. As players you want a lot of game time, it gets you ready for the season.

“You’re itching to get started – always looking forward to that, but each week is a week to improve and take step by step.”

Picture supplied by Gillingham Football Club.