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Gillingham manager Neil Harris is keen to see his side make their mark against a top League 2 team - and they have another chance tonight.
Midweek hosts Stockport County are a club that Harris has described as having an “embarrassment of riches” and it will be another big test for his new-look side.
Stockport returned to the Football League after finishing top of the National League last season - ending an 11-year stay in non-league. They start the week seventh in the table - occupying the final play-off spot.
Harris’ men have picked up plenty of points against League 2’s lower sides since January, as they quickly put relegation fears behind them, but have lost to promotion-chasing Mansfield and Bradford.
Looking to their next opponents, Harris said: “They have an unbelievable squad of players and an embarrassment of riches at this level, they are a team that should be at the top of the league.
“For us it is another challenge, another test for us on the back of a Mansfield and a Bradford, where there hasn’t been a lot in the games, Bradford certainly.
“We have to make sure we get it defensively right but also we have those moments of quality as well. That is our next test, to come out of a game against a top side and come out on the right end of a positive result.”
Until recently Stockport were flying. Five straight wins was ended with a 1-0 loss at Barrow and a goalless draw at home to Doncaster on Saturday.
The Gills also played out a 0-0 draw at the weekend, against lowly Harrogate. Both sides will be looking to get back on track after recent setbacks.
Harris said: “We would have liked to be going there off the back of three points but it is another point gained.
“The important thing for us was not to get beat, not to let Harrogate close that gap on us and to get a clean sheet is vital for us, we need more of them between now and the end of the season.
“I wanted three points, of course, the fans wanted to see another Gills win, but it wasn’t to be, what we have to do now is quickly move onto Tuesday because we have a massive test against a really good team.”
The weekend point was enough for the Gills to extend the gap between themselves and the drop zone to eight points.
“That’s a positive an we can go and have a go at Stockport,” Harris said.
“They are getting to the stage where they want to be in the top three and they should be in the top three really, they are getting to that pressure stage as well where they need to win games of football.”
Harris’ men are putting relegation fears in the past but the manager admits he’s not relaxing yet.
He said: “I’m trying my best to stick to my terminology of one game at a time, we are one at a time.
“Eight points [between the Gills and the bottom two] is a three game swing as we know, or four games with a couple of draws. We are in a lot healthier position than we were but until we are mathematically safe I won’t be content and looking towards the summer and building.”
Tuesday's game is a rescheduled match from December, postponed when the Edgeley Park pitch was frozen. The Gills were in the bottom two at the time, in poor form and heading for non-league. It's been all-change since the Brad Galinson takeover and a flurry of new arrivals.
