The Championship is where Gillingham chairman Brad Galinson believes the club belong.

Any better than that is just a dream at present - they kick off another season in League 2 in August - but the Gills owner sees no reason why they shouldn’t be looking towards the second tier of English football.

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The Gills had five years at that level between 2000 and 2005 under former chairman Paul Scally.

Describing his vision for the club, Mr Galinson said: “Long-term will be three things. One is it will continually be sustainable. So no matter how much success we have, it’s not to get ahead of ourselves and spend too much with what your turnover is.

“The second is a big cliche, but it’s a Championship club. Get to the Championship as quickly and as sustainably as you can.

“It’s not a League 2 club and it’s not really a League 1 club, although it would be better than League 2. It’s a Championship club.

“It’s a mid-term goal to get to the Championship and then figure out what to do because then it’s challenging, then you think of stadium, location of stadium, and then it’s a big commitment to get to the next level and then, who knows?

“The third is that experience of the fans. It’s making sure that the infrastructure, entertainment value, Priestfield, the store, all that kind of stuff, keeps up with the food concessions, the family experience, so that we’re delivering a better and better experience no matter which league we’re in.”

Fans are certainly getting behind the club with hopes of better things on the horizon.

Season ticket sales are up on previous years, the stadium is getting a refurb and the squad should be challenging for promotion this season.

Mr Galinson said: “This is a football area that wants good football and if you give them good football and good entertainment they come back.

“They’re coming back and we just have to continue to give them the entertainment and the skill that they’re expecting.”

US ownership in English football is huge and there are four Florida-based owners.

Mr Galinson has enjoyed his first five-and-a-bit months in charge, taking on a club with huge potential and a price tag that was attractive, too.

He said: “I’ve always been interested in sport, business of sport, US sport, which is where my natural instinct would be but there are two things.

“One (US sport) is unaffordable. It’s billions of dollars, literally, for any hockey team, basketball team, football team, baseball team, so the risk profile is a lot and there are closed Conferences.

“There’s no relegation and there’s no promotion.

“I didn’t know at the time, how special that is or actually how unspecial it is in the US until you see it here.

“UK football has always been something that’s interested me. It was a business. It was a fun journey.

“I’ve done a lot of business in the US but it’s not the same.

“There’s nothing like the experience of UK football and especially a lower-league UK football team that sort of has a lot of potential upside.

“It’s been a lot more work, a lot more challenging than I thought, but I haven’t regretted it.”