Gillingham are out of the League 1 relegation zone - and the next big challenge is to stay out.

Boss Neil Harris has quickly led his team out of the bottom four and they head to Accrington this Saturday hoping to start putting some distance between themselves and the bottom four.

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Gillingham have seven games left and are one point and one place above the drop zone. The Gills climbed up to 20th after a goalless draw with Sheffield Wednesday last Saturday.

Harris said: “I have been here short term, for the players and staff who have been here for the last four months in the bottom four, it is a huge bonus to be out of the bottom four - it is great for confidence and belief.

“I see it as part of the next small step we are taking. Now we are out, we want to stay out and if we do drop back in at any stage then we get ourselves out again.

“That is the mindset we have, nobody is getting carried away, we have achieved nothing so far other than the praise that I continually give the group for making me proud every training session and in every game so far, none more so than Sheffield Wednesday at the weekend.”

John Coleman’s Accrington sit mid-table, with 50 points already in the bag. It’s a team who have made their Wham Stadium a bit of a fortress, unbeaten at home in nine with wins from their last four at their own place.

“It is another tough fixture,” said the Gills boss. “They have competed really well this season and I have watched their last few games.

“This will be a big test for us and a slightly different game this weekend to playing maybe Charlton and Sheffield Wednesday. They can mix both sides of the game, they are a blueprint for teams on smaller budgets, a bit like ourselves where they can really compete physically but they can play as well.

“They have built a group over a period of time with an experienced manager and we know it is going to be a huge challenge but we are confident going into the back of an excellent performance and result against Sheffield Wednesday.”

Gillingham have several players out injured, including Ben Reeves, Mustapha Carayol and Robbie McKenzie but it’s looking unlikely that any of those three can be involved.

Gills were boosted last weekend by the unexpected return of defender Ryan Jackson from a hamstring injury.

Harris explained: “We weren’t confident he was going to be fine, but he managed to do a bit (of training) on Thursday, trained well Friday, then sometimes you get a player of 30-31 and you have to trust them. He said ‘gaffer, I am fine, I want to play’.

“When you have not got many senior players available sometimes you have to trust the players you have got and he was excellent.”