Manager Neil Harris felt Gillingham deserved something against Charlton but admitted they lacked what was needed at the top end of the pitch.

Charlton won the match 1-0 with a goal that came after goalkeeper Pontus Dahlberg was unable to hold onto a speculative effort. Big moments came and went for the Gills and defeat leaves them as they were before play. The Gills are still in the bottom four on goal difference.

Report: Charlton 1 Gillingham 0

“It wasn’t a game we deserved to lose,” said Harris. “We deserved to get at least a point out of it.

“I thought Charlton had a lot of the ball in the first half and we were fine with that, we are comfortable without the football. I said (to the players) at half-time for 40 minutes we had been fine without any major issues, even-steven in the box first 40, then we gave a poor goal away. It was avoidable and in the position we are in we can’t afford to give away individual errors.

“I said at half-time maybe we needed to be a bit more aggressive without the ball, take more risks, get higher up the pitch. Second half we were excellent and really stepped onto Charlton.

“We had the better of the second half and all I will say to my players is they have given me everything, that is all I can ask of the smallest group of players I have ever had in my life, I think. My only disappointment was our lack of quality in the final third, we got into some really good areas and lacked a bit of creativity and ultimately didn’t create enough goal scoring opportunities.”

Vadaine Oliver had a chance with a header first half and Conor Masterson fired over the bar when well placed in the second.

“We defend as a team and we score as a team,” said the Gills boss.

“We gave a poor goal away and then at the end the chance falls to your centre half, but the best chance was in the first half for Vadaine Oliver with a header, maybe Stuart (O’Keefe) gets in the way, but six yards out, 99 times out of 100 that ball goes into the back of the net.

“I thought we got into good areas, Charlie Kelman’s movement was excellent, especially first half, when we got into those areas we didn’t make enough of the one versus ones situations and that has been the story since I have been here and that is the difference to when you are playing Charlton, who aren’t on the great run, but individually they have some excellent players at this level.”

A point on the night would have taken the Gills out of the bottom four.

Teams around them are continuing to struggle to pick up results. On Tuesday night all of the sides in action that are battling the drop lost.

“It has to be a positive that we haven’t lost ground,” Harris said.

“The three teams around us have all got beaten as well but the negatives are that had we got the point we deserved we would be out of the relegation zone and that would be another boost.”