Charlie Kelman doubted himself during the early days of his Gillingham loan but is reaping the rewards of his decision to give it another shot.

Kelman was sent back to QPR without a goal to his name during his time under former boss Steve Evans but returned with renewed vigour. He’s forging a blossoming strike partnership with Vadaine Oliver and starting to get his name on the scoresheet.

• Harris: "It's all about the points!"

His opener against Accrington on Saturday was his second for the Gills.

The 20-year-old said: “It has been a difficult season for myself, it has been for the lads as well, being sent back and stuff goes goes on behind the scenes, but everybody has made me feel so welcome, it’s such a nice group of lads and fans, everyone at the club I love and it is nice to be contributing.

“The gaffer (Neil Harris) told me he wants me to be a pest and play to my strengths, stop worrying what everyone else thinks, that is the biggest thing and he also cares.

“I got a bit of a hard time at the start of the season which was fair enough, I wasn’t doing anything, now I am trying to run and showing that I do care, I do. We want to stay in this division, the fans have been through a tough time, at the start of the season, but hopefully they are now enjoying it.

“Sometimes you go through patches where you don’t get the rub of the green, I was being so hard on myself, you start to think ‘can I do this, am I good enough?’ I pulled through it now with everyone around me, I am very thankful for that and I want to keep going.

“I just want to keep scoring goals, it is the best feeling in the world, I want to run as much as I can for this gaffer, this club, the staff. I am enjoying my time here.

“This (loan spell) is really big for me, I came here to learn about men’s football, develop even more, I had a taste of it at Southend and went to QPR and transitioned, now I am here to learn the ugly side of the game and also develop and grow up as a man. I think I am starting to mature and it is reflecting on the pitch, I will keep working hard and see where we are at the end of the season.”

The Gills are heading towards safety in League 1, boosted by a weekend win at Accrington that takes them four points clear of the relegation zone.

The striker said: “It wasn’t the best performance but it at the stage of the season where we just want to win, we wanted three points, we got it and we went home happy. It doesn’t matter how we get three points, at the end of the day nobody is going to remember the game, they are just going to remember the scoreline.

“This is where football matters, these are the games you want to play in, there is something to play for.”

Up next for the Gills is a trip to Sunderland this coming Saturday. It will be Kelman’s first visit to the Stadium of Light. The home side will be in need of a win for their own promotion push and will have a big crowd behind them, but that doesn’t bother the confident young striker.

He said: “You could see it last week against Sheffield Wednesday, did we look scared? I didn’t think we did, we stood up to the challenge and we look forward to these games. Everyone is up for the challenge.”