Features
Phillips: I loved every minute of it
Published by Gillingham Ladies Media on August 31, 2010
Lauren Phillips made her debut for the Gills on Sunday against former Club Millwall and turned in an impressive performance.
It is even more pleasing for the striker as she played slightly out of position on the right hand side of an attacking trio.
Giving her reaction after the game, Lauren said: “It was good to play against Millwall in my first full Gills game and I loved every minute of it. It took a little bit of getting used too but for me it was more important to put in a good performance regardless of the opposition.
“Playing on the wing is not my preferred position as I am used to playing with my back to goal, but I have played there before. It’s not completely unfamiliar to me but I still have things to learn like any other player. It’s important to be versatile and I feel like I did a job there.”
Lauren certainly had her hands full all afternoon with the full backs from Millwall attacking down the wing, meaning she had to track back and support Lauren Williams at right back.
She added: “Megan McKeag their fullback kept me busy as she loves to get forward so I had my work cut out tracking up and down the pitch.
“I feel I did a job and did what was asked of me by the manager. At the end of the day as long as I play well, I don’t mind where I play and if I was asked to I would play there again.”
Lauren is one of a number of signings who arrived in the summer and she has settled in alongside the existing players really well.
She said: “I have settled into Gills so quickly. I have said it to so many people that I have never settled so quickly into anywhere before. Other clubs it has taken a couple of months but at Gills it was more or less straight away.
“It has helped that I knew quite a few of the girls before I joined, but everyone has been fantastic. The girls are brilliant, the banter and the spirit in the club is top draw and it’s a great place to be. The gaffa isn’t too bad either.”
The Ladies are currently unbeaten in their first two games of the season and Lauren thinks this is a great achievement.
She added: “We have got off to a great start. Yes we didn’t play our best against Charlton but we still got a result. Against Millwall we got another great result and it just goes to show that we have the players and the strength and depth in the squad to challenge teams at a higher level than us and we still have so much more to offer. The season has started well for us and hopefully that will continue.
“My aims for the season are to first of all put in regular and consistent performances for Gills to nail down a regular starting place. Competition is so fierce across the board we have a lot of good players in all positions which is great and it only benefits the team as a whole.”