Will Wright played a key role in Gillingham's weekend clean sheet at Hartlepool after replacing Elkan Baggott in the team

Gillingham defender Will Wright hopes he’s done enough to keep his place in the team after Saturday’s goalless draw.

The Gills clinched a point from their trip north and Wright was back in the team after sitting and watching the previous two games from the bench. He was included while Elkan Baggott travelled to Indonesia for international duty. Wright took his chance well, helping the Gills to a clean sheet.

“I had to take it on the chin and look at my own performances,” said the 25-year-old after being left out. “(I had to) try and fight to get back into the team, maybe a stroke of luck with Elkan being away on international duty, but I feel like the work I have put in over the last couple of weeks, I deserved my start.

“We got a clean sheet, I was happy with me performance, so hopefully I can keep my shirt.

“I think defensive wise I was happy with how I played. My home debut I think I played well but it was definitely one of my better performances so far.”

Defender Wright, who joined from National League Dagenham this summer, had been a regular starter at the beginning of the season but got dropped to the bench for the Swindon home game, coming on as a substitute, before being unused in the next two.

“I have had a little bit of being patient,” he said. “A little bit of maybe learning with the gaffer’s style, I have worked hard on the training ground and think I got my just rewards by getting a start on Saturday. “For us as a defensive unit a clean sheet is what we set out to achieve, from our point of view we have done our job.

“I played the first seven games, felt like I did okay, we have a lot of new players, it is not just me settling in, it might be a bit different for me, it is my first season in the EFL, but once