Gillingham's draw with Sheffield Wednesday lifts them out of the League 1 relegation zone
05:00, 20 March 2022
updated: 10:25, 21 March 2022
Gillingham are out of the relegation zone for the first time since November but manager Neil Harris knows there is plenty more to do.
A goalless draw against Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday was enough for the Gills to climb up to 20th, a point and a place outside the bottom four. When Harris took over as manager, the team were 10 points adrift of safety.
It’s been some turnaround but there are still seven games remaining and the team below them, AFC Wimbledon, have a game in hand.
Harris said: “It means a lot (to be out of the bottom four) and the first thing Danny Lloyd said when he came in (to the dressing room after the game) was ‘Gaffer, we are out of the bottom four’, and I said ‘good’.
“The players are buzzing and all week they will be able to see that we are not in that bottom four but we have achieved nothing yet, all we have done is take another step in the right direction.
“The group has been class since I have been here.”
Gillingham had enough chances to beat the mighty Sheffield Wednesday but were unable to take their opportunities infront of goal. A goalless draw was still an impressive effort.
“You have to take pride in that performance,” said the manager, who has quickly built a rapport with the Gills fans.
“The crowd was excellent, there was a little spell where there was a bit of nervousness, that is probably because of results elsewhere, but the fans got behind us and that is what I want at the football club, why I want us to be in this division next year. We want to be welcoming teams of the stature of Sheffield Wednesday and we have to fight tooth and nail for it, we can only do that if the fans are with us for 90 minutes.
“Since I have been here they have been tremendous. I praise the football club, praise the fans, praise my players and my staff.”
