Play-offs are still our goal

Gillingham

Gillingham can still make the play-offs, insists midfielder Bradley Dack.

The Gills were beaten 1- 0 on Tuesday at Oxford, following Saturday’s 2-1 win at Walsall and dropped a place to 16th in League 1.

A dramatic upturn in form is needed for the Gills to mount a challenge but Dack – who feels his own form is improving – is confident they can still be contenders.

He said: “We are looking to get into the play-offs 100% and to go beyond that.

“First and foremost we have to concentrate on the next game, that’s Rochdale (on Saturday) and hopefully we can string some results together and then climb the table.”

The bookies aren’t so sure, with odds of 50/1 available for a Gills promotion this season.

Dack, who was the division’s player-of-the-year last season, has been hampered by injury during the current campaign but hopes that is now behind him.

He said: “I think we’ve turned the corner with the hamstring.

“Hopefully, I can get a run of games now and get back to it.

“I need a few more games to get back to full pace. It’s been a frustrating season for me with injuries and picking up knocks. It has been tough to take.

“I am not making excuses, though. My form hasn’t been good enough and hopefully with more games it will get back to where it was.”

The defeat at Oxford ended hopes of making it three straight wins in League 1 but Dack felt they were unlucky.

He said: “It was tough to take. We were looking to make it three but it wasn’t to be. I thought we played well.

“Second half we were going for goals, which left us open and they caught us on the counter a few times but with the amount of chances we created, we should be scoring one or two.

“We are disappointed but there are positives to take out of the game and we go again on Saturday.”