Gillingham head into the weekend rock bottom of the Football League.

A win for fellow strugglers Hartlepool on Friday night at Crawley saw the northeast side leapfrog the Gills, leaving Neil Harris’ side bottom of League 2.

The Gills will need a positive result against sixth-placed Bradford City on Sunday (1pm kick-off) if they are to climb off the bottom of the table - but they must beat the weather first.

Harris is planning ahead for a match this weekend even if the wintry conditions are a threat to their plans.

Freezing temperatures have already started to have an impact on the weekend Football League schedule across the country and the Priestfield pitch has been under cover since the end of Thursday’s FA Cup match against Dagenham.

It was a tricky surface for the players to cope with against Dagenham, with Harris admitting that match was down to which team made the fewest mistakes on a frosty surface.

“I don’t think the game would have finished had it kicked off an hour later,” Harris admitted. “We want to play on Sunday and it might suit us on a tricky pitch rather than Bradford, who are a very technical side.

“We have some protection for the pitch but if it is going to hit minus four or five, then I would fear for the game, but I won’t focus on that, my preparation is that it is game on.”

The Gills have struggled in the league this season - with two wins and only six goals - but no team in the lower divisions can boast a cup record like theirs, into round three of the FA Cup and the fourth round of the League Cup, with Premier League opponents to face in both.

Gillingham beat Dagenham in the FA Cup on Thursday with a 95th-minute goal - scoring three on the night. It’s seven unbeaten in cup competitions but no wins in nine in the league, and without a goal in 556 minutes.

With 20 games played, the Gills are bottom of the pile, with an inferior goal difference to Hartlepool. They are due to play a Bradford City side who are chasing a promotion place this season.

Harris said: “We are really looking forward to the game, they are doing well in the league this year, it’s a good test for us and we'll look to get some points on the board.

“They are a good team, good players, an experienced manager, a good guy Mark Hughes, a big football club fan-base wise and where they have been in the Premier League as well, certainly one to look forward to, another strange one, Sunday lunchtime kick-off but we have had some strange times because of cup success.”

The match was moved to Sunday to give the Gills an extra chance to rest following Thursday’s cup match.

Harris left captain Stuart O’Keefe and versatile Robbie McKenzie out in midweek to give them a chance to recover from injury.

“We will have to look at whether we can get Robbie or Stuart back fit,” said the manager, who also revealed an illness had crept into the camp.

“A couple of boys were ill, some we didn’t expect to make the 90 (on Thursday) but got through and fair play to them, we will have to see what the next 24-48 hours brings.”