Robbie McKenzie admits it took some getting used to being with a new club after over a decade at Hull City.

The 22-year-old was a one-club man before his time at the The Tigers came to an end in the summer, one of several heading out of the KCOM Stadium at the end of the 2019/20 season. He had been there since the age of nine.

McKenzie had signed a short-term deal in the summer to give Hull manager Grant McCann extra options after the season restarted following the Covid-19 lockdown but wasn’t required.

Gillingham manager Steve Evans liked that the player could offer versatility to his small squad, in defence and midfield, and beat off a couple of others to his signature.

It meant a move south and a challenge that McKenzie felt he needed.

Speaking after the midweek EFL Trophy match at Ipswich, he said: “I feel like I have settled in well. I have found my own place, I am getting everything sorted and I am enjoying it down here, it is good.

“It was a bit of a shock to come in at first. Hull City was all I knew, since I was nine, it had been a long time but I feel it was the right time to be leaving, to push on in my career and develop myself.

“I had a couple of other offers but I felt like Gillingham were the ones who wanted me the most. I liked how they talked to me and that is what made me want to come. I got a text from the manager and from there is excelled quickly and we got the deal done. I am happy to be here and hopefully I can contribute to a good season.”

McKenzie fits the criteria Evans has been looking for. Young, hungry, still with plenty to prove. Being a free agent was an obvious bonus.

At 22, the player needs to push on. Prior to joining the Gills he hadn’t played since March and, ironically, his first league appearance for his new club was against Hull City.

Since then he’s been in and out of the Gillingham team and he’ll be looking to hold down a regular place. The game against Hull is his only league start so far, coming off the bench against Shrewsbury last weekend but unused against Wigan and Blackpool.

It’s still early days, however, and he’s ready for whenever that chance may come.

He said: “I feel good and whenever the gaffer feels he needs to call on me I am ready. All I can do is play the best I can every time I get a chance to play.

“I would say my stronger positions are centre-back or right-back but if the gaffer puts me in midfield I am happy to play there. I feel like with the players we have got they can play in different positions. Everyone is happy to just get a chance to play. You just go in and do your best.”

It’s a young Gillingham squad this season but the management team have a track record of improving youth.

It’s a management team that take no prisoners on the sideline either but McKenzie has quickly got used to that.

“He brings out the best in people,” McKenzie said of his new boss. “He makes you perform and if you don’t perform you are not going to be in the team, it’s simple.

“He doesn’t instil any fear in the players, it is his way of going about it, I think everyone understands it and agrees with it.”

With youth comes ambition and the Gills feel they are capable of challenging this season in a league that hasn’t been this strong in years. Up next on Saturday is the visit of Oxford United, who missed out in the play-offs last season.

McKenzie said: “It is going to be tough on Saturday and we have to be ready for it.

“We can do anything if we believe as a team. If everyone is on board and pushing in the same direction it is going to be a lot easier. With the group we have got I feel we can achieve anything.”

More on the Gills;

Former Spurs defender still attracting interest

International duty rules newcomer out

Young midfielder knocking at the door