Gillingham’s new owner Brad Galinson got a rousing welcome at Priestfield as he declared his hope of ‘waking the sleeping giant.’

Mr Galinson did a lap of the Priestfield pitch with his family before the FA Cup game against Leicester City on Saturday and was warmly received. The Gills lost the FA Cup encounter 1-0 but there is a buzz around the club thanks to the American’s investment.

Harris: A missed opportunity against Leicester

Saturday’s match was live on BBC1 and before kick off he told the viewers: “I was in London yesterday and someone said to me, ‘isn’t that the club that is the sleeping giant?’ I am going to wake the giant with a little bit of upgrades and a little bit of money.

“The community and the fans are just fantastic. I am very excited.”

It’s a busy time for the club and their new owner. Kenny Jackett and Andy Hessenthaler have been appointed as director of football and head of recruitment, respectively. New signings are also in the pipeline.

It’s certainly been a welcome boost for the manager Neil Harris. He’s had a tough first 11 months in charge - the team are bottom of the Football League - but now hopes to have the tools to succeed.

“It’s happier times for me, certainly,” Harris said, speaking after the Leicester match.

“It has been difficult the last few months, no secret, really difficult, worst time of my managerial career by a long way, but I want us to be better, I want us to improve.

“We saw today (before the match) with Brad coming in and the reaction they got came because they (the fans) wanted change, they have got that change, I need change on the pitch and we have to produce it.

“It is a mega start. That performance (against Leicester) backed up everything that has happened over the last 72 hours but we need to carry that momentum every day from now on.”