Gillingham’s newly signed striker Macauley Bonne needs extra training to get up to speed

Gillingham boss Neil Harris says his new striker isn’t fully up to speed yet.

Macaulay Bonne joined the Gills before the weekend, in time to make his debut off the bench on Saturday, but Harris will be going easy with his new recruit.

Harris believes it’s going to take a few weeks and extra training from the former Charlton striker to get up to speed, having only joined the Gills for training in the latter stages of their pre-season schedule.

Harris said: “We are delighted we have got him onboard but he is six weeks behind everybody else, he has had seven or eight training sessions with us but is a long way behind.

“We have to ramp him up at the right time, he has got to get his head around that as well because he is desperate to play and contribute.

“It will be extra sessions, extra physical sessions, game time accordingly to where we see him at and ultimately it is making sure we don’t push him too soon and that he breaks down.”

Harris is delighted to now have four strikers on the books, five when Lewis Walker returns from injury. Oli Hawkins is expected back soon, to compete alongside Tom Nichols and Ashley Nadesan.

“What Macauley brings is that ability to stretch and to link and to compete physically, and aerially, but he is a natural goalscorer,” said the Gills boss.

“Oli Hawkins does what it says on the tin, and he chips in with goals and he can play centre-half.

“Tom Nichols is as good a link-up player as you are going to see in the lower leagues, a clever player, but it is hard for him to keep going and going and we have seen what Nadders brings, he catches pigeons and sticks the ball in the net.

“We have to find enough goals in the team to get us around that top seven.”

The Gills are still on the hunt for an