Gillingham boss Neil Harris has been updating us today on the plans for the under 23 side and more in day two of catch-up with him.

Neil Harris has backed the under 23 side completely and is thrilled by the prospect of, and it’s with that news we continue our conversation with the boss.  

He told us, “We’ve got a good core group of players who we enjoy working with and some travelled to Dartford whilst the rest went to Herne Bay at the weekend. The main side will be predominantly B team players with a sprinkling of under eighteens which is what we want. There’s trial and error to the side this year, building it for players who we feel have got real potential and the development of everyone to help in their futures. It really is a no brainer for the Football Club, and we’ll work it out over a period of time and see if there’s any longevity to it.” 

The three new kits have been a huge hit with the Priestfield faithful and it would appear that it’s the same in the dressing room.

“The players like them,” Harris admitted. “The home kit I’m a big fan of and really like it whilst the second and third kits my daughters love them! They love all three actually, it’s so important for the Football Club that we continuously move with the times and change and engage with the fan base for what they like to see.

“We’ll never come away from our core values as a Football Club which ultimately is the blue home shirt but the Club does have to move with the times and we have done brilliantly this summer I believe not just with the kits but with the whole matchday experience as well, to get five and a half thousand for a friendly with Millwall was amazing, who gets that sort of crowd for a pre-season game? We didn’t for Palace’s first team last year.” 

The local bookies have Gillingham fourth favourites for the League Two title and promotion, points that we put to Harris.

“It’s different to last season, isn’t it?” he agreed, “the bookies are experts, but they do get it wrong! I certainly think it helps manage the expectations of a top three finish as we’re nowhere near that as we’re miles behind some teams still, but we want to be there or there about and I think that’s possibly a fair assumption as I can’t think there’s much between fourth and seventh or even down as far as top ten.

“I do honestly see fourth to tenth as very close and quite open to be honest and I really do hope that we’re challenging at the right end from the start of the season on day one, but ultimately once we get past Christmas, it’s certainly our aim to make sure that we’re in and around that top seven and see what’s about after that.” 

“We went a long way in the second half of last season to start repaying Brad and Shannon for what they’ve brought to the Club already, not just their energy or their contributions financially but also to build the structure and make it a homely place again; both inside the building and in the stands and on the terrace.

“I think we’ve gone a long way to doing that but because of their infectiousness, their support, their love and their comradery we want to keep winning games of football as for me as a manager, that had to be the best way for me and my squad to deliver our thanks to them!” 

“We had a great run here after Christmas and that ideally will continue and whilst we’ve got to be good on the road as well, the home form will stay as it was as ideally, we will win a lot of games at Priestfield.

The second half of the season only Bradford beat us here and Newport last home game which was a real shame. We will lose games of football at home and away this year, I don’t like to, but you have to accept it.

“We have to make sure that from that first game here against Accrington that we are competitive and like a Gillingham side; a Gillingham side doesn’t have to be pretty you know that, we just have to be effective. The second half of last year we were really good at times and when we weren’t good, we were still effective without the ball and that has to be the aim from the start this year, we have to be as good as we can and when we’re not as good as we can we have to be finding ways to win!” 

“I said things when I first joined the Club about trying to build the Club and that was given to me by Paul Scally. It’s taken time to start the building and ultimately, it’s taken what Paul always promised, a new owner to really get the chance to build the structure.

“For me as a manager, it’s not just about winning on a Saturday afternoon, it has to be to leave the Football Club when I do in a better position than it was when I first arrived, and if I left today, the Clubs already in a miles better position on the field, off the field, structurally its miles better.

“Don’t think for one minute that I’m content with that, I want to keep moving forward… Neil Harris has got his mojo back and I want to keep it to be fair!”