Gillingham manager Neil Harris ready to rebuild for a challenge in League 2
05:00, 06 May 2022
Work is already under way at Gillingham to ensure they can challenge to make an immediate return to League 1.
Gills tasted relegation on Saturday for the first time since 2010 when they dropped into the bottom rung of the Football League.
Manager Neil Harris didn’t have enough time to save them from the drop and they went down on goal difference following a 2-0 home defeat against Rotherham.
Harris knows the limitations on the club from a financial standpoint but is ready for the challenge.
He said: “Everyone has to understand the parameters we were working with and we have to accept that, because that is where we are as a football club. We have to rally, be together, be united and we have to accept the challenge next year.
“I am trying to immediately set the standards and we have to accept the challenge that next year we are going to be in League 2. We want to push for a top-seven finish in League 2, that is why I am here.”
Harris and his management team were out over the Bank Holiday weekend scouting teams and players, and that will continue while football in the lower tiers comes to a close.
Meetings with players will also be taking place from his current squad, most of whom he doesn’t want to keep, including some of the seven who remain in contract for another season. A retained list will be announced shortly.
Harris came close to keeping the Gills up and has been a popular appointment, with blame for relegation falling at the door of others.
He said: “We were 10 points adrift and about 3,000 goals behind everybody else [when I took over] and ultimately the goal difference has cost us. We have got a lot more points than the teams around us since I took over but we have just given ourselves too much to do.
“I backed my ability to get more out of the group, that is certainly not a knock on the two Steves (Evans and Lovell) who were here before me. I just thought I saw bits in the group where I felt maybe I could get a bit more out of them.
“I decided straight away against Crewe that we had to play a back five because we had let in 70 goals in about three games. I was thinking we can’t play a back four because the lads can’t defend in a back four.
“I have had to play a five and we found a way to stay in games. Ultimately that is what we have done, we have stayed in games, but we have fallen short. By being secure at one end, we have not scored enough at the other.
“The amount of times we talked about changing and then realised we didn’t have anyone else to play up front.
“I said (QPR loanee) Charlie Kelman had been a big miss. For the first half of the season he didn’t impact the squad, from my first four or five he didn’t, but when I found the way to get the best out of him, he did. But if you have a young loan lad, who has played a handful of first team games and you really miss him going into the last few games, you have issues with the squad selection.
“I thanked the players. I made sure I thanked them for what they have done for me or tried to give me, but they also need to know they have fallen short.”
Harris joined the club on transfer deadline day, only having enough time to get a deal done for Millwall’s Ben Thompson. He was asked if his arrival sooner would have made a difference.
He said: “I like to think had I been here for a couple more weeks we would have got another point, yes, and I think the points-per-game ratio shows that. If I had been here for 36 games we would have had 42 points (Harris’ points-per-game record was 1.17, compared to Evans’ 0.75) which would have been enough.
“And maybe with more time in the transfer window we could have brought in a couple more players. I can’t say what would have happened but if I had been here 24 hours earlier, I think we would have stayed in the division because I would have had a day to sign another player or two.”
Harris now gets the chance to build a team of his choosing, assuming he can move on the players he doesn’t want.
*Gillingham have confirmed their first pre-season friendly date of the summer. They will be playing at Folkestone Invicta on Saturday, July 2 (3pm).
