Crucial matches are around the corner for Gillingham as they prepare for games against two fellow strugglers.

First up is a trip to 19th-placed Newport County on Saturday before an away game on Tuesday against a Crawley Town side currently 18th in the League 2 table. The Gills are worse off, one point and one place above the relegation zone in 22nd.

After midweek FA Cup success, boss Neil Harris’ attention now turns to improving their poor league form. The Gills are six games without a win in League 2.

Harris said: “We have some huge games to look forward to. I said to the players before the game [on Tuesday] it is a massive seven days for us, [the FA Cup match], Newport and Crawley, a big seven days.

“[They are] fixtures that on paper are winnable for us, and we should have that mentality, that we want to win games of football, and that [win over Fylde] was a good start.”

While the Premier League and Championship takes a pause for the World Cup in Qatar - which begins on Sunday - the games continue for the rest of the Football League.

“We have had 25 games already and we are in mid-November, it is ridiculous,” Harris said.

“We can’t wait for Wolves (in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup), we look forward to that day out, but we will have played 30 games by the time we get there and I think they would have played 14.

“I had my gripe about the Papa John’s Trophy. I put a really strong side out [on Tuesday in the FA Cup]. I made five changes but still had a really strong side. We respect the competitions but you work on one of the smallest budgets in the league, have the least players and you play the most games. It just doesn’t make sense.”

The Gills had to take Robbie McKenzie and Max Ehmer off on Tuesday as a precaution following knocks while goalkeeper Glenn Morris was due an MRI scan on Wednesday to find out how bad his shoulder injury is. He went off injured in last Saturday’s league game against Northampton.

Jake Turner took over between the sticks and youth keeper Taite Holtam was back-up.