Gillingham 'united again' after takeover, says boss Neil Harris

Neil Harris was appointed as Gillingham manager in January 2022

Manager Neil Harris says Gillingham are "united again" following an upturn in form since a takeover in December.

The Gills have won six of their past nine games to move from the bottom of League Two to 20th in the table, seven points clear of the relegation zone.

"We struggled to compete at this level but the change of ownership has really helped with momentum," Harris said.

"There's chemistry between the pitch and the terraces and it's a great place to be at the moment."

He added: "You can see the faith in the players and in me from the terraces and they are patient with us. They have faith in us and in their team. This club is together."

American businessman Brad Galinson bought a majority stake in Gillingham just before Christmas, drawing an end to Paul Scally's 27 years as owner of the Kent club.

"The fans have been desperate to see the club do well," Harris, 45, told BBC Sport.

"It's been a really difficult couple of years off the back of Covid and trying to be patient while Paul (Scally) had been trying to get investment or sell the club. It's finally happened and they can see now a bright future moving forward.

"Brad was hugely supportive of me at a difficult time when he took over. Hopefully I'm repaying that faith he's shown in me. He wants to drive this club forward.

"He's invested in the club because he sees potential. He wants to build something over a period of time, and we've started well.

"We've got to be really careful that we don't get too carried away and too excited. It is going to take time to build the club. But the infrastructure is growing, and so is the quality in the changing room."

Moving 'in the right direction'

Florida-based property magnate Brad Galinson wants Gillingham to return to the Championship in the long term

The Gills had slipped to the bottom of the fourth tier during a 12-match winless streak in the league between October and the start of January, but a 2-0 win over fellow strugglers Hartlepool on 14 January started a run of form which has catapulted the side up the table.

Galinson's investment has been crucial, providing the platform for Harris, working alongside recently-appointed director of football Kenny Jackett and head of recruitment Andy Hessenthaler, to make 10 signings in the January transfer window.

"As a manager I've been fortunate enough to over achieve in a couple of seasons, at Millwall and Cardiff, but more often than not you are where your budget allows you to be in the modern game because it's dictated by money," Harris said.

"The January transfer window enabled us to add quality to the group - just tinker with a couple of personnel that we wanted to go out the building and be able to replace them with some very good players."

Gillingham had recorded four successive home wins but that run was ended by a 2-0 defeat by Bradford City at the MEMS Priestfield Stadium on Tuesday.

Rochdale were six points ahead of the Gills before last month's win over Hartlepool, and Dale are now bottom and 11 points worse off than the Gills, who hold a seven-point buffer to 23rd-placed Crawley Town.

"It does look a lot healthier and we are just trying to move away from those bottom two positions," Harris said.

"We are certainly moving away from Rochdale but even trying to move away from Crawley and Hartlepool too. We've still got to focus on what's below us.

"The more momentum we build, the better results we get and we can then start to look at what's above us. We're moving in the right direction. We just need to continue with the good results."

Interview with Neil Harris by Jamie Reid.