Football
Exclusive: Bradley Dack Returns to Gillingham with Eyes Set on Promotion and Career Revival
Bradley Dack returns to Gillingham after injury setbacks, aiming for promotion and a career revival. In an exclusive interview, Dack shares his journey, overcoming injuries, and his ambition to help Gillingham climb the ranks in League Two.
Image Credits: Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty Images
Bradley Dack has gone back to his roots with Gillingham to re-ignite his career.
The talented midfielder enjoyed a memorable promotion with the Gills over a decade ago having enjoyed a rapid rise through the club’s youth ranks.
From Gillingham's Youth Ranks to Championship Success
Having gone from strength-to-strength at Blackburn Rovers in the Championship, Dack was on course to playing in the Premier League only a few years ago until an injury nightmare struck.
Two anterior cruciate ligament injuries in the space of three years stopped him dead in his tracks.
He suffered his first ACL injury, to his right knee, in December 2019 and, just when it looked like he’d got his career back on track, disaster struck again less than two years later when he suffered the same injury to his left knee.
A Premier League Dream Derailed by Injury
“It’s definitely been a difficult couple of years,” Dack told SportsBoom.com. “But I feel like I’ve still got a lot more to offer.”
“I had great success at Blackburn and had promotion in my first season in League One, then really building on that in the two years in the Championship.”
“But then I obviously picked up the injury when my goal then was to try and go into the Premier League.”
“At the time, when I did my knee, we felt that was a real option.”
“It’s been really difficult and hard to take, but unfortunately injuries are part and parcel of football, and I was just unlucky it happened to me on that occasion.”
“But my body feels good. If I can keep myself fit, then I can definitely have a good season – and hopefully that can lead to promotion.”
Dack added: “The two ACLs were tough to take, especially the second one.”
“The first one was probably a little bit harder because I’d never experienced it before.”
“They were difficult moments in my career, but I’d never look back with regret.”
Its (injuries) part and parcel of football, it just happened to be that time for me. It just happened unfortunately.
Bradley Dack
A Rollercoaster Ride at Blackburn and Sunderland
“I came back after my second ACL and had a bit of season with Tony Mowbray at Sunderland, but my first full season back was with Jon Dahl Thomasson (at Blackburn).”
“I was available and pretty much fit for the whole season, but I was in and out of the team and didn’t really work for me there.”
“Then afterwards I went to Sunderland and started the season pretty well, but he then got sacked and stuff didn’t quite work out of me.”
“I picked up a hamstring injury around Christmas, which was really difficult to rehab from.”
“But now it’s about playing as many games as I can and enjoying it.”
“That’s my goal now for however long my career is going to last. That’s my main aim.”
Nostalgic Return to Gillingham
“Promotion is the goal (this season), it’s about trying to be successful and seeing where that takes me.”
Dack starred as the Gills won promotion to League One in the 2012-13 season and won a string of awards at the club – including Player of the Season – during a prosperous five-season spell between 2012-17, in which he played 185 times for the club.
He went on to win promotion to the Championship with Rovers in the 2017-18 season, winning the club’s Player of the Season award after a memorable campaign.
Understandably, he attracted interest from a number of clubs keen to secure his signature during the summer.
But a “nostalgic” return to the Priestfield Stadium, where has achieved so much success as a player, was hard to turn down, even if it meant a drop to playing in League Two.
“One of the main reasons I signed was because of the ambition of the football club, the owner (Brad Gallinson) and the manager (Mark Bonner).”
“When I sat down with them, and they explained what they wanted to do – and where they saw the club in the next five years – well that was something that really appealed to me.”
“They don’t see the club in League Two at all, they want to go as far as they can go.”
“They’ve got the infrastructure in place to that, it’s a really family club, Kent’s a big area and the academy has always been good, so everything’s in place to be successful.”
“I feel like it’s always been a club that should definitely be higher up than it has been.”
“I wanted to be somewhere where I felt I had a good chance to play, and we could have a successful season.”
Mark Bonner on Dack’s Return
Gills boss Bonner is delighted to have Dack at his disposal.
“There is a romance about the signing,” said Bonner.
"He is a player with real pedigree and is really well known to the supporters.”
"When he is fit and available he gives one hell of an option. Hopefully, he can help us achieve what we all want to do.”
“Hopefully I can play a huge part. I’ve made no secret, one of the reasons I’ve come back is to try and help get the club promoted and get out of the league this season.”
Neil has been a journalist for longer than he'd care to remember, having written for national newspapers and respected publications for over 25 years. For the last three years he has worked freelance for BBC Sport, working on the production desk as a sub-editor and also as a writer, covering a whole range of sports.