This was far from how Billy Knott expected the season to pan out.

The former Bradford man had high hopes after finally linking up with Justin Edinburgh, a manager who had watched him progress from childhood.

Six months later and 24-year-old Knott is working under a new boss at Gillingham and clinging onto hope that there still might be life in the season yet.

With a hamstring injury behind him, he’s determined to make the most of the final months of the campaign.

He said: “We have got time to turn it around and still have loads of games.

“Overall it has been a disappointing season for us and with the squad we have, we know we should be up there but it’s not a given.

“We need to get back to basics and if we do that and keep working hard then we will win more than we lose.

“We have a group of lads who should be looking upwards and not behind us. We are down there but we are still looking for the play-offs, even if it is a bit optimistic.

“Justin was chasing me for a long time and after finally getting to work under him, it didn’t work out. I wish him all the best at Northampton.

“The new gaffer (Ady Pennock) has come in here, I get on well with him and he is trying to implement a new style. It is going to take time.”

Knott admits he found it difficult to find his best form early in the season as he wasn’t playing in a favourable position and when he did get going, a hamstring injury held him back.

He said: “I was playing on the left at the start in the diamond, which is fair enough as I am a left-sided midfielder but I would rather play top or bottom of the diamond to get on the ball.

“When we went to 4-2-3-1, injuries picked up and I didn’t get a run in the team.

“Just before my hamstring I was hitting a bit of form and enjoying it, the results were going well but we fell off it a bit.

“Before my hamstring I felt like I was hitting form and felt fit. It came at the wrong time, before Christmas, when there were loads of games coming up.

“I hate being injured and it does take time to come back. You have to listen to the physio but five weeks was five weeks too long for me.”