City striker Cody McDonald is taking care not to set himself a goal target for the season after scoring his first hat-trick in the professional game.

McDonald, on loan to Gillingham from Carrow Road, scored three times in the 5-1 victory at Stockport on Saturday to take his tally to 11 at the halfway stage of the League One season.

But he was quick to hand the credit to team-mates John Nutter, Danny Spiller and Luke Rooney, who laid on the goals, rather than dwell on his personal triumph.

“The boys have been brilliant for me and they’ve just been putting it on a plate,” said McDonald.

“They put in some lovely balls for me. From a personal note it was brilliant to score them but the performance from the boys was outstanding. It felt great.

“With these sorts of players you are going to get chances and as a striker scoring goals is my job. Thankfully on Saturday it worked out well.”

But McDonald won’t increase pressure on himself by setting goal targets.

“I don’t really set myself personal targets but I’m going along well at the minute,” he told the Kent Messenger. “If I could hit that 20-mark then it would be brilliant, but I’m just taking each game as it comes.”

McDonald, 24, scored five times for the Canaries in 32 appearances, but only seven of them starts, before moving on a season-long loan to Priestfield Stadium.