Gillingham know nothing less than a win in Lincolnshire will do this weekend as they look to claw themselves out of the League One relegation zone.

Off the back of Tuesday night’s dour 0-0 draw with AFC Wimbledon, The Gills have shown that they have more fortitude under new boss Neil Harris, shipping far less goals in recent weeks, but now seem to not know where the goal is at the other end.

Harris has been working hard on the training ground to come up with a system and the personnel to unlock opposition defences, but is fast running out of games to put his stamp on a Gillingham side that have flattered to deceive in this campaign.

With relegation looking more likely by the week and The Gills having dropped to 23rd in the league, some fans have already started to talk about next season and life in League Two.

However, Harris hasn’t given up the fight by a long shot and is determined to get something from the game at Lincoln this weekend:

“It’s a nice place to be at the moment. There are smiles on faces. We just need to stick the ball in the net! We are trying to get the best out of what we’ve got and offer support.”

“The group have been fantastic. We need to find that little bit more in the final third and that’s what we will continue to work on.”

“I want the players to have a winning mentality. Ben Thompson has got better with each appearance. He has shown his qualities. He is the sort of player fans want to see here. Conor Masterson has done really well.”

“In the short-term we want to build the right culture and the right environment. We have one or two who have knocks. We will see what tomorrow brings. Gerald (Sithole) is out with a hamstring injury. Probably 7 to 10 days.”

“We want to improve all the time. Me and David (Livermore) drove up to watch Lincoln last Tuesday; they dominated the game but lost 0-1. On paper they have a very good side, it will be another tough game.”

Mustapha Carayol is unlikely to be risked as he recovers from the ankle injury that he suffered in the win over Crewe Alexandra and is not expected to travel.

Meanwhile, Ben Reeves started against AFC Wimbledon and came off with cramp during the second half, but is expected to be able to start in Lincoln.

With Gillingham still under an embargo from the Football League, Harris is unable to bring new players in, despite reports to the contrary.

Going into the final twelve games of the campaign with the squad he has, Harris seems to be the least fortunate Gillingham manager in history, stuck with a paper thin squad.

Getting the best out of this squad is all he has to work with and that probably won’t be enough come the end of the season, but with the entire playing staff out of contract come the end of that campaign, players are playing for their places, either at Priestfield or elsewhere.

Lincoln City go into the game on the back of a 3-1 loss at Bolton Wanderers on Tuesday night and sit 17th in the league, so a performing Gillingham side could see this as a game that could be won.

Lose and fans will rightly begin to think this season is all but over, win and the unthinkable could be thinkable once again.

Picture supplied by Gillingham Football Club.