500 NOT OUT!
John Akinde aims to keep notching up appearances – and goals
GILLINGHAM striker John Akinde had no idea he was approaching 500 senior games – but reckons he’s still got plenty left in the tank.
A message alerted him to the fact he was bearing down on the milestone, a mark he achieved in last weekend’s draw at Portsmouth. In that time, the 31-yearold has racked up more than 150 goals.
He said: “I got an Instagram message saying ‘Do you want me to help you do your graphics because you’re coming up to 500 games?’. The guy asked if I wanted to get it done for the next couple of weeks.
“I started doing the numbers in terms of how long I’d been playing and I’m happy with it. I’ve got the 500 games and apparently 162 goals (before the weekend), so I just want to try to increase on both.”
Akinde arrived at Gillingham last January and, after the Covid-shortened season, has started to find his feet in this campaign.
With seven goals to his name in the league pre-weekend, including four since the turn of the year, the striker had hit some form before being dropped to the bench in recent weeks.
As a born competitor, he has not found that easy, and is doing everything in his power to convince boss Steve Evans he deserves a starting role.
“It would be strange for anybody to be happy in that situation (coming off the bench),” he said.
“I want to play every game. That’s not always the case for whatever reason, but the next best thing is to try to do your best when you come on the pitch.
“It’s always about working hard and when the opportunities arise, you try to take them, which I feel that I have. That’s all I can really do from my side.
“We’ve not really had massive conversations about it (with Evans).
“You just sort of get on with things really.”
Akinde had been heavily linked with a move away from Gillingham in January, with clubs in both League One and Two keen to bring him in.
In the end, though, he felt the best option was staying put and trying to play his part in a play-off push at Priestfield.
Longer term, though, Akinde makes no secret of his desire to return to the Championship, more than a decade after his first taste of the second tier as a youngster with Bristol City.
“There was interest in January, there was quite a bit of interest, but I felt like I was playing quite a big part here,” he added.
Interest
“I felt like I’ve done well as and when I’ve been called upon. So there was interest but nothing really materialised.
“If someone asks you if you want to push on, be it with Gillingham or a different club, I want to be in the Championship. That’s especially the case when you feel you can do a job at that level and do well.
“Ideally, I want to keep progressing, just keep trying to play well when I step on that pitch and try to score goals.
“That does all the talking for you. Whatever happens, happens from there.”