Gillingham know victory at Charlton on Tuesday night would lift them clear of the drop zone and drag their near-neighbours a little closer to trouble.

The Addicks are on a terrible run, with just one point from their last seven League 1 games, the kind of form that led to the Gills getting into trouble under former boss Steve Evans. Gillingham have turned it around under Neil Harris and survival is now a real possibility.

It’s another huge game for the Gills, who are now only in the bottom four on goal difference. The team directly above them, Wimbledon, are not in action on Tuesday and can now be leapfrogged.

“We are right back in the mix,” said Harris, who has seen the gap to safety cut from 10 points to none since taking charge nine games ago.

“We have got ourselves level points with teams above us and that’s testament to the players.

“Charlton are not a million miles infront of us at the moment, like Lincoln weren’t when we went there (and won), so it is an opportunity to gain points again.

“It’s a difficult fixture, a big club, a big fan-base, massive budget, they have under-performed, it is up to us to make it uncomfortable for them and cause an upset.”

Charlton are just seven points above Gillingham and looking over their shoulder. On Saturday at Accrington their surrendered an early lead and were beaten 2-1.

Harris will be focussing on his own team, one that battled to a weekend win at Doncaster, but constant injuries aren’t making his job very easy.

He said: “We just have to win games of football. We focus on Charlton now and will see who is fit. We won’t be adding to the group personnel wise, if we lose two players (from the weekend) we will have four subs on Tuesday, that will be us, we just get on with it.

“We have to win the next game, we have to have the same mentality that we had in the first nine, there are going to be disappointments between now and the end of the season, the league table will be up and down, all we have done is build belief and confidence again.

“There will be ups and downs between now and April 30 (when the season ends) and we have to prepare for disappointments like we did after Bolton [The Gills lost 3-0 at home last Saturday]. I spoke calmly afterwards because I knew it was all about Doncaster the following week.

“We have ticked another win off, closed the gap, and we look forward to Tuesday (tonight) now.”