Gillingham new-boy Shaun Williams' Portsmouth admission after ex-Millwall man revealed he tried to leave Fratton Park in January

The veteran midfielder became a free agent this summer following a south-coast season in which he made 35 appearances.

He was reunited with former Millwall boss Neil Harris at the Priestfield Stadium on Friday, having agreed to join the League Two club.

However, the 35-year-old admitted he could have arrived sooner following negotiations during the January transfer window.

Yet Harris’ Gillingham appointment on transfer deadline day meant they ran out of time to reach agreement with Pompey.

Williams told Gillingham’s official website: ‘I’m really pleased to be here, excited about the opportunity and I’m just grateful to be working with Neil.

‘He is a massive factor. When he took over in January, quite late in the window, we tried to get it done then.

‘I wanted to come, but obviously I couldn’t due to the short time that he had.

‘So to get it done now is perfect and I’m looking forward to it.

‘We played Gillingham in November (and won in the last minute) and it wasn’t too far before that (the interest), I think we were quite lucky that night.

‘He was manager at Millwall for three-and-a-bit seasons, we had a great relationship, I really enjoyed working with him and I like his philosophies on how he builds a team in terms of character and professionalism. I want to be part of that again.

‘He’s a people person and has had success in the past, so hopefully he can have it again in the future.

‘I am a controlled kind of player, I like to get on the ball, do what I can for the team. I don't want any headlines, I like to go under the radar and hopefully I can show that on the pitch.’

Gillingham were relegated to League Two on the final day of last season, courtesy of an inferior goal difference to Fleetwood.

Now Williams is challenged with helping the Gills return to League One at the first time of asking.

He added: ‘I think it will be competitive, obviously there was the disappointment of relegation for Gillingham last year and hopefully now it’s going to be a fresh start.

‘We are going to have to strive to be the best that we can and hopefully push on.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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