Scott Wagstaff felt Gillingham were denied a stonewall penalty as they pressed for an equaliser at Bury.

Wagstaff came on at the break on Saturday, giving the Gills more of an attacking edge, and supplied the cross for Connor Ogilvie to pull one back with just over 20 minutes left.

And when Ben Nugent was bundled over in the box, there were big appeals to referee Darren Drysdale. Wagstaff, who led the protests at the time, said: “I was really surprised he didn’t give it to be honest.

“I felt it was a penalty, if someone goes in behind someone you are going to give a penalty. Anywhere else on the pitch and that’s a foul.

“It was disappointing but we can’t use that as an excuse because we should have probably nicked another goal before that.”

The Gills were chasing the game, conceding twice inside the opening half-hour.

“We didn’t start great and it’s a tough ask after that,” said Wagstaff. “We haven’t really been doing that since the gaffer took over. We have been really positive from the start and started games well. It was disappointing.

“I think we probably deserved to get a point in the end, we had a good go second half, but we killed ourselves with the first two goals in 25 minutes and that was the story of the game.”

Wagstaff is easing his way back into the side following a recent spell on the sidelines with a hamstring injury. His performances in between have been good, however.

He said: “The season I have had so far has been disappointing, it has been a bit stop-start but hopefully I can stay healthy, stay in the team and carry on with the assists and chip in with a few goals.

“It’s probably the best I have been playing in recent years, I have really enjoyed myself under the gaffer. We are playing some good stuff and it’s a good group of lads.

“Hopefully we can put that result to the back of our minds and get on with it now.”

The Gills are now seven points off the play-offs.

“We still need to make sure we are safe first and foremost,” said the experienced campaigner.

“We are always looking up because it is tight. If we can go on another run then we would be right in the mix and that is what we will be looking to do.”