More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
Gillingham midfielder Mark Byrne isn’t surprised it’s taking them time to settle.
The Gills have shown glimpses of quality this season but have struggled to pull a 90-minute performance together in the league.
Byrne, 30, has seen many new team-mates arrive over the summer – with more expected to follow – and getting the mix right will take time.
He said: “We’ve a whole new squad and it will take us some time to get used to each other but we are getting there.
“We have changed and we’ve been playing different styles and formations.”
There have been a number of new additions in midfield - with another added on Thursday - but Byrne has managed to feature in every game so far, starting the last three. He’s obviously hoping that continues.
“You just don’t know what could happen,” said the Irishman.
“It changes every week. I think it is a challenge and I spoke to the gaffer, it’s good to have that challenge, it keeps you on your toes for the season.
“I have been around long enough to know what it’s like, you have to keep going and plugging away and football is a strange game, you just have to keep going and look after yourself.”
It was a busy summer for Byrne, heading home to Dublin to get married, only to find out a day after his ceremony that his former boss Justin Edinburgh had died following a cardiac arrest.
Byrne tweeted at the time that Edinburgh had been “like a dad” to him and the news was a major shock. He had played under him at Rushden, Newport and Gillingham.
He met up with former Gills player Josh Wright soon after, while on honeymoon in Dubai.
“We were just shell-shocked,” said Byrne. “You don’t ever know what is around the corner.
“He was a great man and he was more than just a manager. It is still a shock to this day.”
Wright wasn’t the only one he met in Dubai, spending a day with former Bury player Jay O’Shea.
He had just helped the club win promotion from League 2 but claimed he hadn’t been paid for months and that he was waiting on bonus payments following their success.
He, like the rest of the team, departed. O’Shea has since joined Australian A-League side Brisbane Roar – managed by Robbie Fowler.
Players at several clubs experienced pay issues last season, including Bolton, Notts County and, closer to home, Ebbsfleet United.
Byrne was speaking on Tuesday morning, with the club still unaware whether they would be playing on Saturday after troubled opponents Bolton were threatened with liquidation.
Bolton's takeover was completed on Wednesday.
Byrne said: “Jay was unlucky to get out of Bury and it is difficult in the lower leagues. It is not a long career and when it happens your savings start getting eaten into.”
Bolton started the season playing a number of youngsters in their team – as senior players refused to play for free – and called off one of their games, against Doncaster, due to player welfare concerns.
Byrne wouldn’t have minded playing in those circumstances, having started at Nottingham Forest as an 18-year-old.
“If it was me I would rather keep playing,” he said.
“It’s an opportunity to put yourself in the window because there are a lot of teams who could be watching.
“It’s an early character test and if you do well, playing a few games in League 1, you never know.”
It's game on for the Gills this weekend, after Bolton's takeover, and Byrne feels a win won’t be far off.
“We were so unlucky against Blackpool last week and we deserved to win that game,” he insisted.
“We were sloppy just before half-time and then on Saturday (against Coventry) the first half wasn’t good enough. Second half we had a good go and we just have to keep that momentum going now.
“We need to get that first win under our belts and then hopefully go on a run.
“Just look at Peterborough, they didn’t win any of their first four games and then smashed MK Dons (4-0) at the weekend and won the week before.
“We should have beaten Blackpool and we battered Newport (in the Carabao Cup, losing on penalties) but that is the way football is sometimes.”
