Aiden O’Brien was buzzing with his first Gillingham goal - but admitted he should have had three!

The 29-year-old opened his account for the Gills when he scored the winner against Crewe on Tuesday night. He had a couple of chances after that too.

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“If I am being critical with myself I should have had a hat-trick,” he said.

“But I am just buzzing with the goal that gave us the three points because this group of lads, the staff, we shouldn’t be where we are and we won’t be where we are. We are moving in the right direction.”

Three points moved the Gills 10 points clear of the relegation places in League 2.

It was O’Brien’s first goal in 10 appearances and he was delighted to get off the mark at last.

He said: “I have had loads of chances since I have been here, usually they have gone in.

“I had a chat with the manager on Monday, on the training pitch, he laughed at me and said, ‘I know you well enough, they will go in, don’t worry about it’. I was saying ‘yeah, I know, but they should be going in!’

“We were messing around and then he puts me on and I score two minutes later! That’s football.

“You just have to keep your head, stay positive, keep making positive runs, keep being bright, that is what I did. I put it away and I was buzzing.

“They messed up the clearance, it fell to me and it was just an instinctive finish, tucking it under the keeper. It felt lovely. It was a great pass from Nico (Tom Nichols) and it was long overdue, I needed that one!”

O’Brien is on loan from Shrewsbury, moving back to his family roots in the January transfer window. It’s a new club but with plenty of familiarity.

He was asked about making the move permanent and said: “The good thing about this is that I have known the manager for God knows how long. I used to clean his boots when he was a pro and I was a kid! I have known him since I came through.

“It is a bit surreal to be back home and with Gillingham, which isn’t far from my home. It all fits well.

“I just want to keep enjoying myself and stay fit. I am loving it and we will see what happens.”