Josh Wright believes being awarded three penalties in just nine minutes helped him complete a hat-trick of spot-kicks.

The Gills midfielder took his tally to 12 for the season with his first-ever hat-trick against Scunthorpe on Saturday.

But he insisted the quick chain of events in the game meant he never had time to worry about the next potential penalty.

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“It helped that they came so quick,” said Wright. “I believe I’m strong-minded and quite cool when it comes to many things.

“The second one I was more nervous, the third one I was thinking this is for the hat-trick and to win the game, there was nothing going to stop me.

“I won it, the boy clearly clipped me and hurt my ankle a bit but there was no way I wasn’t going to take it. The boys came running up to me as though I’d already scored but I was just focused on hitting the back of the net.

“The keeper moved the ball, so I set myself again and wasn’t going to change my mind but he went slightly early which helped.

“The penalties came so quickly and that was the thing. If you get one at the start, the middle and the end of the game you get time to think about them.”

It’s a test of Wright’s mental strength that he was able to step up three times in one match to score.

The 27-year-old believes he has the right attitude to cope with that situation.

“I believe it is such a psychological thing in your mind of what you are going to do with that penalty because they are nerve-racking whether it’s 20 people or 20,000 all staring at you,” he said.

“You try not to think about that at the time but things go through your head all the time, where are you going to put it, are you going to score or miss it, and you have to be strong-minded.

“I believe I am and that’s why I think I’m capable of taking them. It was fantastic to see all three of them hit the back of the net and obviously I’m delighted.”