Peter Taylor had plenty to smile about as the Gills came good on home soil.

From a “disaster” at Leyton Orient the previous week came a far better showing against Tranmere Rovers.

It was a win that all-but secured the Gills their League 1 place for next season.

“It was a very important win and a much better performance than last Saturday,” said boss Taylor.

“I am very happy with the day because we started the game very well and we just couldn’t score. I felt we had a couple of decent chances and we should have put one of them away.

“The longer the game goes on like that, you can get a bit anxious but the players kept working extremely hard.

“We had said before the game that Orient was a disaster and we had to bounce back. I think the players did.

“The players knew themselves that they had to respond.

“We should have scored early doors and had we done that then it would have been a slightly better afternoon.

“I am delighted with the outcome and the 2-0 of course. The performance and the work-rate was absolutely fine.”

Victory took Gillingham’s points tally to 51 and they are now seven points ahead of the relegation places, with just three games left.

A cautious Taylor said: “I think we would be unlucky to go down with 51 points but it is still not impossible.”

Taylor brought Bradley Dack back into the squad for Friday’s game and the 20-year-old responded by coming off the bench and scoring the crucial first goal, with 12 minutes left.

The Gills boss said: “At times, he has been frustrated that he hasn’t played so much lately. At times, he has come on and looked better as a substitute. We are very happy with his work.”