Manager Neil Harris is sure the goals are coming for Gillingham striker Macauley Bonne.

The Gills had to be patient with the frontman when he arrived in August, lagging behind the rest of the squad in terms of fitness, but he’s now starting to make his mark.

Harris felt Bonne should have had a goal in last weekend’s 2-1 win against Morecambe when his effort from a corner was chalked off after an infringement in the box was spotted by the referee.

“He deserved a goal and I thought he was excellent leading the line,” said Harris, who started with George Lapslie and Bonne up top instead of early-season picks Ashley Nadesan and Tom Nichols.

“If he keeps playing like that the [goals] won’t be far behind but we have to make sure we’re creating for him.

“He put in a strong performance, an unselfish performance, that I thought deserved a goal.

“His finishing in training is a joke. Macauley is just getting fitter and fitter and better, and he is adjusting into how I want him to play.

“We signed Macauley Bonne because I want him to be the No.9 that played at Leyton Orient, I don’t want him to be the No.9 that played in the Championship, back to goal, coming to the ball all the time, that is not his key attribute.

“Ultimately, he is a hustle, bustle, centre-forward that is a natural goalscorer and we have to get him in those positions.”

The Gills went into last weekend with five 1-0 wins behind them. Harris is aware they need more goals - they are top of the table but among the lowest scorers in the league - and Saturday’s performance deserved more.

They were more of a threat in the attacking third having done extra work on their offensive play in training.

Harris said: “It was nice to score two goals in a game, really vital. I’m not burying my head in the sand, we have won a lot of games 1-0 and as much as it is brilliant (to score more), a win is a win.

“It makes no difference how you win 25 games a season. To achieve, you have to win games of football, 1-0, 5-4 - makes no difference whatsoever.

“I am pleased we scored two good goals because we gave away a really poor goal, which has been unlike us, but we are a work in progress.

“We signed loads of players in January and we hit the ground running, we signed loads of players in the summer again and it takes time for me to gel the group, for me to see combinations. It takes time for the group to gel and get used to working with me sometimes.

“It’s been a brilliant start, top of the league after eight, but it is only eight.

“We worked all last week on attacking play and the chances we created. I know we might have stats showing 11 or 12 chances created, but the chances we did create were absolute clear-cut chances as well and how the game is only a one-goal swing is bizarre.

“I was really delighted with the players’ attitude to protect the ball first half, be brave with the ball, positions we got into and everything we asked of them they delivered, in their own ways two really, really good goals. One is a set-piece, organised on the training pitch, and the second one a moment of magic from Connor Mahoney.

“We saw in that first half how much we can control a game and be creative.

“We have seen us control games without being creative and then we have seen us look a little all over the shop, that is to be expected. I watched Southampton (last week), a top side, and they looked like that against Leicester.

“We are developing as a group and it helps having a week on the training pitch. We have another week this week, an opportunity to sharpen up at both ends of the pitch, and I just have to keep dragging the group forward.”