Gillingham’s midweek challenge will be the toughest one yet since the club’s January reset - according to manager Neil Harris.

His men have won six of their last eight games in League 2 since a flurry of new signings arrived. The Gills are the form team in the division over an eight-game period but Bradford City sit one point off the play-off places and are doing their best live up to big expectations.

• Harris: 'A great place to be!'

Harris said: “Mansfield were excellent on the day but Bradford is possibility the toughest game since the Leicester City (FA Cup) game.

“We will have to compete well, have a good shape and discipline in that but do we fear anyone at the moment? No, no we don’t. Does anyone want to come here and play us? I wouldn’t have thought so.”

The Gills have won their last four games at Priestfield, beating bottom half sides Hartlepool, Crawley, Grimsby and Wimbledon.

Bradford are managed by former Manchester United legend Mark Hughes and Harris is looking forward to taking him on, having met his counterpart while on holiday in the summer.

“Mark Hughes is a top bloke,” said the Gills boss. “It’s a big football club, a good football club, just outside the play-off places, a promotion push, they are doing alright. I don’t know the expectations of the football club but it is another challenge for us.

“We fell slightly short against Mansfield Town away from home [Gills’ only defeat in their last eight]. We did extremely well at Swindon, unfortunate not to win the game at 3-3. Against a couple of top-10 sides we have had good games.

“That is our next step now, to make sure we are competitive in those games against top-eight sides.”

Priestfield has been buzzing in recent weeks as fans return to a club under a new ownership that has given people hope of a better future. A second best attendance of the season was there on Saturday to watch the Gills beat Wimbledon, beaten only by a capacity crowd mainly paying £1 a ticket at the start of the month.

The Gills are rapidly pulling clear of relegation trouble, now seven points off the drop zone and up to 20th in the table. Harris’ men were six points adrift at the bottom of the table just seven weeks ago.

“I thought it was a great atmosphere for League 2,” said the Gills boss after the weekend win.

“The fans react to seeing myself, the staff and my players together, that is what fans love, they love the passion and we are just building, we are trying to move away from the bottom reaches of the division, away from Rochdale and Crawley and Hartlepool and trying to reel in those teams above us and that is why Tuesday and Saturday become important again.”

Harris has enjoyed reconnecting with the fans, enthusiastically celebrating every victory infront of them.

He said: “We have to keep moving in the right direction. It is nice for everyone, it leaves the past behind, how tough it has been for a period. It is a big part for me personally, it is a lovely feeling, thinking if we can win this I can have that reaction with the fans. It builds that chemistry between pitch and terraces with me part of it.

“It’s great for the fans, they respond off it and great for the players, they enjoy seeing their manager doing it, they then know they have a together football club and they have a happy manager, a happy fanbase and I am sure social media will be happy with the players, it is a big part of society.

“The reaction to the fans and the players at the end is brilliant and means so much to us all. We are becoming a united club again and the fans have got belief in their football club. The atmosphere (on Saturday) was excellent for a League 2 encounter between a team that is near the bottom of the league and another in mid-table, it was an excellent feel to the stadium.”

Former Bradford City midfielder Timothee Dieng (head injury) is a doubt for the game while striker Tom Nichols (ankle) and defender Robbie McKenzie (groin) are also set to miss out. Shaun Williams (ribs) managed 60 minutes on Saturday despite being a pre-match doubt.