After completing his first full ninety minutes in a Gillingham shirt at Shrewsbury Town last weekend, winger Garath McCleary can’t wait for the next League Two game away to Colchester United this Saturday lunchtime.
“I’m enjoying life at Priestfield a lot,” McCleary told KSN at this week’s briefing. “I joined because of the Gaffer and Dobbo (Gareth Ainsworth and Richard Dobson), and all of the boys have taken to me well, the fans have been fantastic and in terms of supporters, it’s a Club that definitely should not be in League Two.”
“The Gaffer has helped me with the longevity of my career, he knows me and has helped me out in terms of some personal issues and he is someone who I would run through brick walls for – he is a fantastic man manager, one of the best that I have had; he will give to you as long as you give back and has been fantastic for me and has helped me as I was on the brink of retirement at the age of 33. I was literally a day away from retirement five years ago and the Gaffer brought me into Wycombe to train – he said it wasn’t a trial but effectively it was and five/six years later here I am.”
“When I am around the lads, I do feel a bit younger than my years but then the day after a game, it’s probably older – I am feeling good when I am playing! I am still getting into my Gillingham career – I know that I can still get fitter and after getting through my first ninety on Saturday. It’s still very much the beginning and hopefully a lot more to come… There were a few Clubs in League One that I could have gone to – could have stayed at Wycombe as well – but being with the Gaffer previously tipped my decision to come here.”
“The mood has been good this week after the Shrewsbury game,” McCleary told us, “Obviously the way we finished the game was really positive and that’s something we will want to do going forward especially against a top team like Colchester. We didn’t start as well as we wanted to last weekend, I think that the way we finished the game certainly puts us in good stead going forward in this League.”
The partnership that is blossoming between McCleary and full back Remeao Hutton is being enjoyed by the fans and as the winger explained, the players too. “He’s a really good player – someone who can bomb on around you to get the ball into the box. He can back you up as well so for me as a winger, it’s good to know that I have someone like him to back me up!”
“Our away support has been fantastic – it’s definitely something that I have noticed recently especially being injured and coming off my ban as I have been a bit more involved. The noise when we scored the goals at Shrewsbury and at the end of the game was fantastic and it hopefully something that we will hear again on Saturday.”