Outgoing Gillingham captain Stuart O’Keefe believes he still has plenty to offer in the Football League.

O’Keefe, 32, leaves the Gills this summer after four years at the club.

With just two league starts since January, he knew his time was up, but feels he still played a part in the club’s turnaround, giving his all as captain even when not being selected.

He said: “Football is never going to go the way you want it to every season, every day - you have to give some to get some. I wanted to be playing, I was frustrated, I wanted to be part of a winning team.

“I wanted to be winning games of football, I wanted to see the fans cheering because what I remember at the start of the season it wasn’t like that. It would have been nice to be part of a winning team but it wasn’t meant to be.

“At the same time I had a duty, I was still club captain, I am not going to fold and not be part of it, I still had a job to do off the pitch and on the training pitch, driving those sessions, making sure everyone is the best they could be and on top of their game, that is what I learned this season.

“I have to be a leader off the pitch and on the training pitch to keep the boys on their toes.

“I like to think I played a massive part. Obviously I might not be playing on a Saturday but I have every day of that week to be a leader, to be a captain, even in the dressing room before and after games, saying what I want to say, encouraging and being positive, giving the boys belief.

“There are times when you have bad results and training can be a bit of a slog, it can be hard. You have to be the one to drive it, make sure standards are high and that everyone in the building is being as professional and as honest as they can be.

“It was tough not playing, everyone wants to play, especially when you are captain. You want to lead the boys out, you don’t want to see someone do that on your behalf. That is hard to take but it’s also part of football, I had to suck it up.

“I have to move on now and this will be next chapter, offering what I can to another team. I have a lot of experience and you have to take pride in that. I have achieved a lot in the game and still have a lot to offer, I am the fittest I have ever been, all my stats say that.

“I still want to play football, I feel I have so much to offer, I’ve still got the hunger, the desire, to be out there.

“I will go on holiday, chill out and get some R&R and go from there. I’m sure there is some club out there that would want that experience, a lot of legs and energy, and I can bring that in abundance.

“I have played enough football over the years at every single level to know I can still do a job at League 2 and higher possibly. We will see what comes my way. I played 40-odd league games last year and got player-of-the-year in League 1, there is no reason why I can’t offer that again.”

O’Keefe won promotion from the Championship to the Premier League with Crystal Palace, having started his career in the lower leagues with Southend. He spent three and a half years at Cardiff and has played at 90 of the 92 grounds in the top four divisions. Salford and Barrow are the only ones missing. He captained Portsmouth while on loan from the Welsh side, playing under Gills’ current director of football Kenny Jackett.

His first season at Priestfield was cut short because of Covid and a leg break the following year kept him out for months. When fit he played regularly to help the Gills claim back-to-back top-10 finishes in League 1. He was supporters’ player-of-the-year in the side that was relegated to League 2. This term was the toughest as the team struggled and when new blood arrived in January, he was left out.

Looking back, he said: “It has been tough but we had two top-10 finishes which I think didn’t really get appreciated as much at the time. It’s not until you go ‘bang, relegation’, then end up in League 2 and you think ‘that was an exceptional achievement’.

“Obviously the fans weren’t there to witness one of those seasons, we didn’t really get to enjoy it as players as much as we should have done. I think if we had the fans there that season when we were pushing the play-offs it would have been a fantastic place to play.

“Last season was really difficult and this season to start the way we did was a disaster but with a takeover and a few new signings we managed to weather the storm, get the confidence and the belief back.”

O’Keefe had the chance to move on and play in the National League for the final few weeks of the season but was happy to stay put.

He said: “I was part of the Gillingham squad, we were winning games. I still wanted to be around it, be part of something positive.

“I was getting my head around the situation, I wanted to help the boys as much as I could on and off the pitch and see what they could achieve. If needed I would go and play, if not I would be the best that I could be in training.

“To captain the football club was a real privilege. I take a lot of pride in that.

“We might cross paths again and I’ll play again at Priestfield and hopefully get a ripple and not booed, that would be nice!”