Gillingham manager Neil Harris insists the club are only playing catch-up with top half of League 2 during their January spending spree.

The Gills are paying money for players - something they have rarely done in recent years - and taking some top talent from their rivals in the division. Harris insists they aren’t over-spending. Money from the Galinson family has given the club the financial leverage to bring the kind of quality to the club that they’ve desperately needed.

“We have had the the fire power to go out and recruit these players,” said Harris, who has been waiting patiently for the takeover to try and move the club forward.

“We are not blowing people out of the water with money, we are not over-spending, we are only competing the same as 10-12 other clubs at this level but players want to come here because they see a future.”

The Gills have brought in Crawley’s star striker Tom Nichols - scorer of the first goal in a 2-0 win over Hartlepool on Saturday - and Mansfield’s key men Oli Hawkins and George Lapslie. Exeter’s Timothee Dieng has also joined, having been a key player in their promotion from League 2 last season, while goalkeeper Glenn Morris has returned on a permanent deal.

• More players linked as hunt for talent goes on

There are more big targets being chased by the club and Harris has been waiting for this moment patiently.

He said: “The only reason I was at the club was to wait for the takeover, a really tough wait. (I was) kept in the loop when Brad (Galinson) was trying to buy the club. I was involved in talking to Brad and Shannon and meeting them and trying to explain to them where we are at and what’s needed, as were some of the senior staff.

“I hoped for these days, moving forward. There is a long way to go but it’s a cracking start and I can enjoy my job again.”

Harris said last week that the club were doing “sensible business” in the January transfer window, adding: “We are doing aggressive business, we have signed players and we will carry on signing players but we are only catching up with where a lot of teams are.”

The club’s transfer business has caused major ripples in the division and the Galinson money is working its way through to other clubs.

Mansfield boss Nigel Clough has lost two of his best players to the Gills and said before the weekend that the club “are on a different level” to others.

He said: “Them (Gillingham) and Colchester are the two that have changed the landscape a lot of the January transfer window in League 2, they are offering very, very good money for League 2 and it is very difficult when they put that infront of a player.

“We are good payers here and the owners back the club incredibly well but this is on a different level.”

Gillingham have five players in the door so far but it doesn’t stop there.

“I still need to add strength in depth, and quality,” said Harris.

“We have seen personnel go out of the building and personnel not in the squad, through injury or not being available for various reasons.

“The likelihood of a player or two coming in before next Saturday? I would imagine so, yes.”