Gillingham manager Neil Harris has empathy for the boss of weekend opponents Doncaster Rovers.

The Gills head to South Yorkshire this Saturday to take on a Doncaster team struggling at the bottom end of League 2. They won their first game of the season last weekend thanks to a 96th-minute winners at Forest Green Rovers.

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Grant McCann took charge at Doncaster in the summer and will hope that win is the start of better times ahead. They face a Gills team sitting top of League 2 with six wins from eight.

Harris said: “It’s quite bizarre when you look at Doncaster and you look at the squad and what they’ve recruited and (they are) towards the bottom of the league.

“Grant is a new manager there, he needs time to develop it and gel it and it might be a typical cliche from a co-manager that asks for time, but you look and go, they have struggled for results and it goes to show how tough it is.

“Wrexham spanked Grimsby and how good were they against us?

“I know we were poor but it is a tough, tough league, anybody can beat anybody.

“You look at the teams who will get promoted this year, they will lose a lot of games of football, because the league is so tough.”

The Gills are back to winning ways after a little wobble, losing back to back in the league against Colchester and Grimsby, to then win successive home games against Harrogate and Morecambe.

With 18 points from eight games, it’s so far, so far for Harris’ men.

Harris said: “I was asked about the disappointing week (losing twice either side of a cup defeat at Luton) and I politely pointed out we had had four away games out of six and we wanted to get back to Priestfield and stamp our authority and we have, that’s how to do it.

“(We beat) Leyton Orient in the cup (inbetween the last two league wins) and they are a very good side, they showed that last year, winning the league by a mile.

“Harrogate and Morecambe might not be teams fancied to win, but what I have seen in those two games is that we have been much better than them, much better and deserved to win them.”

*Strikers Oi Hawkins and Lewis Walker both played for Gillingham’s B team in a friendly match against Millwall on Tuesday, boosting their fitness after injury. The match ended goalless.

Gills’ B side are playing Dartford in a friendly at Priestfield on Tuesday night, at 7pm. Admission is £5.