Gillingham are playing catch-up in the transfer market but it’s better late than never for manager Neil Harris.

The Gills have already paid a fee for Crawley striker Tom Nichols and Harris expects the club to be shelling out some more money this month. New owner Brad Galinson has told fans they will be involved in a ‘lucrative window.’

Harris had to wheel and deal in the summer, working on a relatively small budget and watching others in the league pick off the cream of the crop. The dynamics have now changed.

“We are active and we are trying to buy players,” Harris said. “We bought Tom Nicholls (from Crawley) and we are trying to buy other players. We are going to spend money.

“Everything we wanted to do in the summer that we couldn’t do, we are trying to do now, it’s six months later and I understand that and it is frustrating but we have to look forward and not backwards. We are in a position where we can compete with 10-12 other clubs now and we need to compete quickly.

“We need to get players in because games are coming. Fortunately we have the Leicester City game in the FA Cup (on January 7) which takes the pressure off bringing players in for the league. That will be a great game to enjoy but Hartlepool on January 14 is when (newly signed) players are going to be available for the first league fixture and I need my new team up and running for then.”

Gillingham won’t have Nicholls available for the match with Stevenage on Monday as EFL rules state that January signings can’t play over the New Year weekend.

The Gills are bottom of League 2 and have ended a dreadful 2022 with just seven league wins. They have won just twice this season and suffered an injury-time defeat to Sutton United on Thursday night.

Harris said: “We can’t change the league table, I am not happy with it, nobody at the football club likes it. I am embarrassed by it but all we can do is try and move forward and I have to try and find a way of winning games of football and let’s be honest, with what I have done, the way we have played, we haven’t won games of football.

“We have to adjust what we do and sometimes you have to say to players, 'we have to bring different players in', every player has had an opportunity at this football club with the amount of games we have played. Nobody can say they haven’t had an opportunity to produce in their positions.

“If players come in and take their shirts then so be it, I have to be ruthless, I have to protect the football club and be ruthless and win games of football. If it means bringing in new players who I feel can improve us then that is what I will do.

“We are trying, we are working hard, a lot of phone calls, trying to run training and the games but whilst trying to sign players as well and it is nice to look at bringing players in that we feel are going to improve us and certainly add to the core group that I want to keep.”

One player linked to Gills but apparently heading elsewhere is Millwall's young striker Isaac Olaofe. Stockport County are reported to have won the race for his signature.

Gills have been linked with numerous players of late, including Crawley's Dom Telford. Their troubled League 2 rivals have already lost star striker Tom Nichols to the Gills with fans of the West Sussex side fearing for the future under the ownership of crypto sports company WAGMI United - who according to reports once had their eye on Gillingham.

Gillingham fans, meanwhile, are hoping their own American owner, Brad Galinson, can turn the club's fortunes around. The Gills are bottom of League 2 but new signings should improve things on the pitch.

Harris has yet to announce which of his loan players will be staying or going but those decisions will be confirmed after their game with Stevenage on January 2.

Portsmouth’s Haji Mnoga is almost certain to return while Plymouth’s Ryan Law hasn’t been involved recently.

“Some will be terminated in the coming days,” Harris said. “Sometimes it is not about who has done well, sometimes it is about what parent clubs want to do and sometimes it is about what the players want to do as well.

"What you do with loan players is be as fair as possible because they always come in good faith to try and help themselves and help us as well.”