Lee hoping for Gills improvement after Oxford defeat

Gillingham midfielder Olly Lee says his side need to put in a big performance against Southend United after their defeat at Oxford last weekend. 

The Gills went down 3-0 at the Kassam Stadium, with all three goals coming in the first half, and the 28-year-old admitted they weren’t good enough, and needed to learn lessons from the performance. He said: “It happened, it was a poor 45, we were way off it. Oxford are obviously flying high, and they put their chances away. 

“It was a tough day obviously for the boys, one we’ve got to learn from. You don’t forget it, you use it as motivation to push on and put in a better performance next week.”

Lee is also hoping that he can secure a place in the side in the coming weeks, having been in and out during the opening weeks of the season. The midfielder joined on loan from Hearts at the end of August, meaning he missed the Gills pre-season, but having made six appearances now in League One, five from the start, he feels he is now fully fit. 

He said: “I’m enjoying it, I feel fit again now. Obviously, I missed pre-season but I’ve got five or six games under my belt now so I feel fit, I feel strong and I look forward to kicking on.” 

Despite the Gills’ tough start, which has seen them win just two of their opening ten games, the midfielder, who had a loan spell with the club in 2012, believes there isn’t too big a gap between the teams at the top of League One, and the teams further down the table. 

Lee said: “I think Oxford are the team I’ve been most impressed with so far, I thought they were very good, but we had a bad day so I’m not sure how good they are and how poor we are. A lot of the teams are very similar, and I think it’s who can keep consistent. For me coming in and seeing the squad, I think we can beat anyone, I don’t think there’s anyone in the squad we should fear.”

The former Luton Town man also accepted that he was one of a number of senior players responsible for helping lift some of the younger members of the squad following the result at Oxford. Tommy O’Connor, Alfie Jones and Jack Tucker, all of whom are under 22, and are in their first full season of EFL football, started the game at the Kassam Stadium.

The midfielder said: “We’ve got a lot of experienced characters and we’ve got a lot of players who have been through times where you have bad days. Sometimes you play well and you lose and sometimes you play badly, and it’s all about bouncing back. For me the great thing about football is there’s always another game a couple of days away.”