The Leicester game was fine. But there’s a bigger picture – and where are the signings? Lewis Browning asks why Gillingham haven’t made mass signings yet.

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the Leicester game on Saturday. I won’t lie, I wasn’t looking forward to it, for two reasons really. One was that I find it hard to get myself motivated to watch this team, and the other was that the ground was sold out.

I know it sounds weird that that would be a negative, but I find you get a lot of day trippers on days like Saturday. You can get stuck next to someone that claims to know what they’re talking about when they only turn up for the big ones, and that’s a bit of a pet peeve of mine.

But apart from one or two vocal lads behind me that may have had one too many, I didn’t really get much of that, which was good.

The fact the ground was sold out shows that the potential is there. There is some sort of interest from many supporters. Now it’s just about finding out how to get them to come back every week and get the gates up to how they were in the good old days.

In terms of the game itself, we were good. I wasn’t surprised – the best we’ve played this season has been against the three Premier League teams.

I don’t know how much that says about the players. Shaun Williams looked like he was the top division star on Saturday. In reality, he’s been a failed signing that’s looked way off the pace all year.

Why can’t they get themselves up for it on a Thursday night against Sutton? Or on a Saturday afternoon against Colchester? One of the only ones that can, Dom Jefferies, now appears to be injured. He’s really grown on me in the last few weeks and I cannot fault his desire. Let’s hope it’s nothing serious.

It was nice to see the Galinson family on the pitch before the game and I enjoyed being part of the warm welcome they received from the fans. They were beaming and it looked like all four of them really enjoyed it. I’m eager to see their obvious desire to take the club forward develop.

Apparently, Brad was in the Factory on the day promising signings this week. It’s currently Tuesday and none have come through the door so far, with just one in the whole window in Tom Nichols. We’re 10 days in and should really have a few in.

Look at Colchester. They’re having the huge transfer window we were all expecting. It might eventually come, but Neil Harris wanted his new squad in place by the time we played Hartlepool this Saturday, and unless there’s a major influx of arrivals this week (fingers crossed), that won’t happen.

Just finally on the FA Cup, we had a deal to make stake.com our sleeve sponsor for the Leicester game. Do your own research, but that is a bad move. They’re a very suspect company – I’ll leave it at that.

The Hartlepool game is gigantic. We simply must win. A relegation rival at home? It doesn’t get bigger right now.

I don’t think we will get the three points if we have the current crop of players playing.

Nichols will make a difference, but he’ll be unable to do it alone. I think we need a goalkeeper, a centre-half, and centre-midfielder, a creative midfielder and two more strikers this window. Minimum.

It feels like we’ve been linked with every forward under the sun in the last few days. The Jayden Stockley link seems to have the most legs to it, but I’d really like to see Kabongo Tshimanga through the door too if there’s anything in that link.

Kenny Jackett and Andy Hessenthaler have obviously come in and I’m pretty pleased with their appointments. Jackett is as experienced as it gets in the Football League and Hessenthaler has an eye for a player – at least he did when he was here before.

I just wish they’d get a move on. I’m not sure if Paul Scally is still overseeing the recruitment side of things but I wonder if that’s having an impact on potential deals. I’m still frustrated that he’s staying but I’m trying to get used to it and back the new regime.

I wonder if there will be a fans’ forum before the Galinsons go back to the States. I’m sure Brad will get a ton of questions about Scally and his eyes will be opened to how an awful lot of fans feel about him. He’ll have his own opinions too.

Onto Hartlepool and Colchester we go, then. It’s such a huge couple of weeks in our club’s history. I wrote last week that if we don’t perform we’re done in the Football League, and I stand by it. We’re already five points adrift – it cannot become too many more.