Gillingham striker Mikael Mandron had to settle with the one goal at Grimsby when on another day he might have been the hat-trick hero.

His equaliser earned the Gills a point and he was focusing on that positive rather than thoughts about the two goals the officials ruled out, one for a foul and one for offside.

“I am pleased,” said the 27-year-old frontman. “You always have to stay positive, goals were something that was missing from my game, from our game as a team, you definitely have to take the positives.

“It is a very good sign that I got two goals disallowed because it means we have created the chances and we are getting in the right positions.

“As a number nine you want to make sure you get goals, this is my first in the league, hopefully I can get many more. I was happy with my performance as well, I was getting chances, getting involved a lot, hopefully we can keep going that way.”

Mandron worked hard for the team throughout, dropping deep to help out at times, while popping up where he needed to be to keep the Grimsby keeper busy. Three chances hit the net, but two were disallowed.

He headed home from a corner in the first half but Max Ehmer was deemed to have committed a foul in the lead up to the set-piece.

“I was just focused on the ball,” said the striker. “I jumped over two defenders and the ball went in, I was disappointed, the referee might have seen something, I am not sure, but sometimes it happens, you get goals disallowed, you have to go again, the most important thing was that I was getting chances.”

Mandron was there again in stoppage time, tucking the ball home at the death, but once again, referee Andy Haines ruined his fun.

He said: “I was ready to celebrate with the fans, ready to jump in with them, as I scored I looked up at the lino and he didn’t give (the offside) straight away and I thought I was fine but then he gave it.

“On a different day I could have had a hat-trick, it wasn’t to be but I will try again on Saturday.”

From a team perspective, Mandron believes they are heading in the right direction after successive draws, a 0-0 against Swindon after playing most of the match with 10 men and a well-earned point at Grimsby.

Mandron said: “The talk at the end of the game was that we are definitely going in the right direction.

“We are creating more chances, there are loads of new players, it is always going to take time to gel and to play together.

“A good performance raises the confidence throughout the club, I think we are disappointed not to get all three (points) but it’s something to build on. Over the past couple of performances we are coming together as a team, creating more chances, it is definitely going to come, I am positive about it.”

Mandron’s goal was a big relief for the Gills on Tuesday and his performance was exactly what manager Neil Harris is looking for.

Harris said: “It was the best game he has had for me this season, (the best game) by one of my strikers. I am delighted for Mika and he could have had a hat-trick. He played ever so well.”

It was Mandron’s first league goal this season for the Gills and ended a barren spell for the club. A run of seven consecutive games without a goal was the worst-ever run for the club. His 14th-minute goal against Grimsby was most welcome.

“I was pleased we scored,” said Harris. “Our worst spell was the first 10 minutes where I thought we just didn’t start the game like we have done recently. Then just before half-time we looked a bit too open, other than that I thought we were the better team.

“When you have players like Ben Reeves, Jordan Green and Hakeeb Adelakun then you have a real threat. The goal was a bit of a relief because for 15 minutes we weren’t very good.

“It’s a little bit of relief for everyone and sometimes it is a reminder for all of us, even your number nine sometimes just needs a bit of confidence and you could see in his performance after that, he was outstanding.

“I said to him in front of the group, we hit our standards as a group last Saturday (against Swindon) and the bare minimum to play for Gillingham Football Club was what we did against Swindon, absolute bare minimum. What Mika produced is the standards I want to see in them every week.”