Josh Rees sees no reason why Gillingham can't give fallen giants Sunderland a run for their money.

The Black Cats are in League 1 after successive relegations and Gills new boy Rees can't wait to get at them.

They aren't the only former Premier League club in a tough division, with the likes of Charlton, Portsmouth, Bradford and Coventry all looking to recapture past glories.

But Rees, who scored 20 goals for National League Bromley last season, is backing Gills to compete.

He said: "It's an interesting league. You've got some really big teams, the Sunderlands of this world, and then some teams who aren't as big in stature but anything can happen.

"Just look at Shrewsbury last season under Paul Hurst.

"They weren't the most fancied team but they went on a really good run and made the play-off final.

"That's what we've got to prove next year.

"Any sort of momentum can get you in and around it and then it's about maintaining that.

"Although the budgets might say differently, it can be an open league if we work hard, graft and hopefully the quality we've got will shine through."

Rees was a wanted man after his goalscoring exploits for Bromley.

But he liked the fact Gills made their interest clear and that boss Steve Lovell had done his homework.

Rees said: "I had quite a bit of interest across League 1 and 2.

"But Gillingham showed a firm interest really early and that's what sold it to me.

"When the word interest is bandied around it can mean different things but Steve knows his stuff and he knew aspects of my game.

"I had chats with other managers and it was as if they'd just looked at the top scorers list in the Conference and got it off there.

"There were other clubs but Gillingham, football-wise, was the best option."