The summer’s promotion celebrations are over for Gillingham’s new recruit Max Clark but he believes he’s at the right place to make that happen again.

Clark played 38 games for Steve Evans’ Stevenage on the way to their promotion from League 2 last season.

“That was my first promotion and a special one,” said the 27-year-old left-back, who ended his stay at Stevenage with a trip to Marbella with his old team.

“Those moments are unbelievable, ones you remember all your life.

“The (Stevenage) chairman took us away and you have to celebrate promotion because it doesn’t come around very often. Your careers are so short, those moments you have to enjoy.”

The aim is to replicate that success with the Gills.

“That would be unbelievable,” he said. “That is why I have come here, I believe in this team, believe in the squad.

“I have seen how well they did in the second half of last season.

“We were saying last season that we were so happy to avoid playing Gillingham after January because they were on a run of form and in some games helped us out, with games against the top teams, picking up draws and they didn’t get beat many times.

“They showed what they are capable of.

“It is good squad of players, a positive group from the back end of last season and I will have to earn my right to be involved. I am looking forward to doing it.”

It’s been full on fitness work in the past few days as players look to return to peak condition.

Clark said: “It has been a tough but it’s nice to be out on the grass, putting the runs in and getting fit.

“It has been good getting the know the lads and the chemistry around the place is good at the minute, all positive and ready for a good pre-season.”

Helping Clark to settle is Robbie McKenzie, who is a former team-mate of his at Hull City. Both players are born and raised in the East Yorkshire city of Hull.

Clark said: “He was two years younger than me but stepped up with us and into the first team, he is a good lad, good player and he works hard, that is like most of us from Hull, head down and graft.”

Stevenage made Clark a free agent in the summer and Gills boss Neil Harris jumped at the chance to sign him, having missed out on him at his other clubs on two other occasions.

“That is a nice feeling when a manager wants you,” he said.

“He told me a lot about the team, the structure of it all and I think it is a quality side, on the way up. The structure is there and I am looking forward to the season, I think we can have a right good go.”

Clark’s career started in the youth team at Hull before a loan at Cambridge United for the 2016/17 campaign and the following year playing in the Championship back with the Tigers.

He made the bold decision to move abroad after that, spending two and a half years playing in Holland for Vitesse Arnhem, following his old boss Leonid Slutsky to the Eredivisie side.

“I enjoyed it,” he said. “It was a different type of football which I had to adapt to, life as well. Going over there on my own was difficult at times but you soon adapt.”

He went back to Hull on his return to England but moved onto Fleetwood, Rochdale and eventually Stevenage, joining them a year ago and helping them to a second place finish in League 2 behind champions Leyton Orient.

He said: “I have just been trying to find a team I really enjoy playing for and that’s why I came here.

“The gaffer knew me from previously and tried to sign me before, he knows how I play and I think that makes it better for me coming here and I am looking forward to working hard for the team, for the fans and all the lads.”

He admits he was a little surprised to have not earned a new deal at Stevenage but said: “This is another opportunity for me to go again, there was other options closer to home, but the drive of this club attracted me more than anything, that’s what caught me eye.

“Yes we had a good season last season but that’s behind me now and hopefully I can bring a little bit of what I had last season into this group and if I can help in any way then I am obviously going to do that. I will give everything I can.

“This looks like a group of lads that can be so successful.

“It is a tough league and there are some quality teams but we’ll focus on ourselves, give everything we can for this club and see where we get to.

“The squad wants to do well, wants to achieve, one of the reasons I came here was because I want to push on, I want to achieve with Gillingham.

“If we stick together there is no reason we can’t achieve things this season, that will be our aim.”