Olly Lee this weekend joins a very small band of footballers as he prepares to make his third home debut, and ahead of Saturday’s game at Priestfield with Rochdale, he’s been talking to KSN.
“Its really good to be back,” he admitted. “It’s the third time back and I know the surroundings and it’s been really nice for the Gillingham fans to be happy for me to be back.
“So, I’m really pleased about that. Last Saturday at Accrington really couldn’t have gone any better, its not the nicest of places to go at the best of times, but to go there and win one nil with a good performance is a great start!”
“Finalising the move was a really quick thing. I was looking to come back South in the summer anyway because my son starts school in September, so you’ve got to start thinking of planning around your family, we were looking at that in the summer as I was more than happy at Hearts, looking to get the job done.
“But when the Gaffer rang up and got things done the way he does, it all happened in quite a whirlwind and I was delighted to be back. It was a decision that works for all parties and this move back to Priestfield came out of the blue.
“I’d played in every game for Hearts so far in the Scottish Championship and was really enjoying my football, but when an opportunity comes like this, it was the best outcome for everybody.”
“I was thankful of course that I know most of the boys anyway, I know how the Gaffer works, I know how the team likes to play so it was quite easy for me. I was delighted to be back out on the pitch last weekend.
“I know what the Gaffer and Paul Raynor expect of the team and I know what they expect from myself. I know what I can bring to the side and what they want me to bring to the side.
“Jordan Graham and I overlapped last season and we spoke during the initial Lockdown and both said that we hoped to play with each other again, and now it worked out brilliantly as he’s still at the Gills. Kyle Dempsey is a top League One player and its good to be playing alongside both of them!”
“The Gaffer doesn’t pull any punches and tells you how it is and that’s the way that I like to work anyway. If you play bad he’ll tell you, if you play good they’ll tell you.
“I’ve had managers that chop and change and don’t want to have the conversation with you whereas footballers always find it straight forward – if you tell me I’ve played bad that’s fine; that’s the best way to work for me, and if I go into coaching and management in the future I’d want to take a little bit of that into it!”
Looking ahead to the weekend, Lee recalled “Rochdale are always a good side, we had good games against them last season. I’ve followed the Gills results this season as I’ve been with Jordan Roberts at Hearts as well, so we chatted about Gillingham quite a lot.
“We saw the result at Rochdale before Christmas, and we’ve seen their recent results including 3-3 and 4-4 so it should be another exciting game!”
“I’ve been really surprised how good the side is looking, I know it’s after just one game so I don’t want to get ahead of myself but I think we’ve got a strong spine to the team; we’ve got players who can score a goal, we’ve got players who can keep it out of the net.
“We’ve got a little bit of everything, you need some luck in this game and we know we’re not the big hitters the Sunderland’s or the Ipswich’s, but player for player, I’d fancy us against anyone!”
Image courtesy of Gillingham FC