Josh Gillies on what he wants from next season
Attacking midfielder Josh Gillies spent the second half of last season on loan at Conference play-off winners Cambridge United and he admitted this week that he feels he has something to prove as he prepares to return to Brunton Park for pre-season in July.
“I will get away on holiday, and try and relax a bit, but I'll start building things up as soon as I get back,” he told us. “I want to make sure I'm up to speed for the start of next season because it’s something I'm really looking forward to.
“I've had a brief chat with Kav and now it’s a case of making sure I’m as fit as possible. If my future is at Brunton Park then I'll do everything I can to get into the team. Hopefully that will be the case because I do feel like I've still got a lot to prove to people.”
“Obviously last season didn’t go the way I wanted it to,” he said. “I was sent out on loan and that didn’t really go the way I planned either. I know I'm good enough to play at this level but I didn't feel like I had enough minutes to show people that was the case last season. It’s up to me to put that right.
"I was really confident in myself during pre-season because I felt ready for the challenge. When you get a run of games it does make a huge difference to how you play. I played in every game the season before and I felt good physically and mentally. When you're in and out of the team it can be hard to maintain form, so it’s my aim to put that side of things right by working as hard as I can.”
“I know I’m at an age where I need to be playing games,” he added. “It’s a clean slate in July and I want to show myself and the fans that I am good enough to play for the club. I'll do everything I can to make that the case.
“I do believe in my ability but I know I didn't do myself justice last season. I'll look to change that, starting from when we get back in July.”
And on watching our results from his base in Cambridge at the end of last season, he said: “It was a strange feeling to see the club get relegated. I’ve obviously got a lot of friends up here so it was hard to see them go through the disappointment of it all.
“I believe we're good enough to bounce straight back up next year. I'll work hard to be a part of that and I’ll do anything it takes to get into the team.”