Ben Strevens is keen to pay back the faith shown in him by Gills manager Martin Allen.

Strevens was saved from a summer of uncertainty by Allen after he handed the experienced striker a one-year deal at Priestfield.

The 32-year-old (pictured) feared he might not get another chance in the Football League after being released by Wycombe Wanderers at the end of last season.

He said: "I was waiting for that call and I spoke to my old manager at Dagenham where I had previously had some good times. His squad was pretty much sorted and you just hope that a manger out there needs an experienced forward.

"There will be plenty of good players who don’t get contracts and will go out into non-league.

"I am quite fortunate that Martin got this job. Who knows, if someone else got it, I might not have got this chance. It’s up to me to do well now and prove I am worth the chance."

His football life looked uncertain after being surplus to requirements at Wycombe. He said: "This was the first summer I hadn’t walked out of one club and into another (since leaving Barnet) so it was a tough.

"I got an off-season programme from Wycombe and I carried on doing that for another 10 days once everyone was back for pre-season.

"That’s when you start thinking, ‘am I going to go part-time or drop down a level?’ It was getting to that point. Luckily, I got the opportunity to do a few days training here and played a behind-closed-doors game."

Strevens signed for the Gills last Friday, as one of four new faces to arrive during the week.

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