Adam Birchall enjoying the action at Priestfield Picture: Barry Goodwin

By Andrew Gidley

Striker Adam Birchall was delighted and relieved to have made his League debut for Gillingham on Saturday.

After being sidelined for a year following his move from Dover, Birchall was given a place place on the bench against Chesterfield and came on for Danny Kedwell in the 78th minute at Priestfield.

Birchall had feared the worse, missing training last week after suffering a little soreness in his knee, but got the all-clear after a visit to his London specialist on Friday and rang Martin Allen immediately afterwards to say he would be ready to start training this week.

The Gills boss, though, had a surprise in store for the striker.

Allen said: "I called him into my office just before 1.30pm, shook his hand and told him he was sub. His teeth were shining, he was so happy."

Birchall said: "I can’t really put into words how I feel to finally make my (league) debut. It has been a really hard struggle to get to this point, and I can’t thank everyone enough who has supported me, including the gaffer."

He added: "I loved being out there, and it would have been fairytale stuff if I had scored at the end but the angle was not there."

"Having been out as long as I have you have to be so patient. The gaffer has been great, helping me with every step of my pre-season.

"Match sharpness is the thing now and you only get that from playing. It’s a case of hanging in there, showing what I can do in training and hoping to catch the management’s eye."

What can a fit Adam Birchall bring to the squad? Have your say below.