It’s not hard to see why Joe Comper was picked by the Galinsons to be Gillingham’s new director of operations.

The club’s owners have injected new life into the Gills since their takeover at the end of December and their newly appointed head of operations is full of the same kind of energy.

Mr Comper was asked to take on the role and fill the gap left by the departing chief operating officer Paul Fisher, stepping up from his position as commercial manager.

“There is energy here!” he said, looking towards an office buzzing with activity.

“It feels like people are enjoying being here. People are here longer because they are happy being here until 5.30pm instead of 5pm because there is energy.

“I think what Brad and Shannon have done, initially when the football side of things and the first team got that buzz straight away with the new additions, that is now rubbing off across the board. I am definitely feeling it day to day here, there is a buzz around the place, an energy, and an enthusiasm for the Gills. Two years ago I don’t think we really had that.”

It’s been quite an eventful 10 year progression for the new director of operations. His first job in football was at his beloved hometown club Crawley Town, dressing up as club mascot Reggie The Red, while studying sport coaching and development at Brighton University.

He spent a couple of years at Fulham and then onto Crawley, working his way from the community team to the commercial department. He joined the Gills as commercial manager two years ago.

He’s seen the very depths of the Football League, as a fan and as an employee, and feels well placed to step into the new role.

He said: “I haven’t been an armchair fan of a Man Utd or Chelsea, I have stood on the terraces at Crawley since I was six. I have travelled home and away.

“I have seen good practice and bad practice and I like to think that is at the focus of my decision making.

“What we are trying to implement here is ‘how does that person who walks through the turnstile feel? How can we make them feel good? How can we make sure it is easy for them to buy a ticket? How can we make sure it is easy for them to get in, get a burger, get a drink quickly, make a good atmosphere in the ground?’

“It is that journey where unless you have been on it, it’s very hard to make a decision about it.

“Being Reggie the Red got me into games at Crawley and a big thing for me is what was important to me when I was Reggie the Red, I want to make sure that (the Gills mascots) Tommy and Tammie are looked after and make sure they can do their job because if they are doing their job well then the fans will feel it.

“It is quite important for me to always put myself in the fans’ shoes but also the staff who are here on matchdays, putting myself in their shoes, which I used to be in and make sure they are delivering quality. I can’t be on every turnstile, I can’t be in every kiosk, but I need people in turnstiles and kiosks who are doing stuff in my image, effectively. That is the challenge for me.

“As long as the supporters are happy and as long as the supporters are getting the service they want then we will be delivering what we are supposed to be doing.

“I still try and put myself into the shoes of being that Crawley fan on the terrace and Reggie the Red mascot.”

Brad and Shannon Galinson have split their time between the US and England since the takeover but the owners – who are now back in the UK - are always on hand.

Comper said: “I am in contact with them pretty much every day, sometimes two or three times a day.

“They are very hands on and very much running the show. In terms of strategy they are very much leading the way with us and it is up to the likes of me to go and deliver it.

“Sometimes I will go to them and ask what they think about something and they will go, ‘well, what do you think?’ They are very good at flipping it back.

“That is not just me, Ben in ticketing, Phill in media, Gary in safety, there are some things they will want and be very clear about, but on the whole they want the people in here who are being paid and they call experts to go and run it.

“The last two years for the club has been challenging and I think that I am well placed to do this job because I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly. That journey for me is important.

“Look at where we were two years ago, a year ago off the back of relegation, and look at us now in terms of the feel around the place, the supporter base.

“We have come a long way, we still have a long way to go but having seen the tough times I think that will help appreciate where we have come. It is a bit like a drug, you want to feel that adrenalin, as it improves people are growing with the club, myself included.

“I am grateful for the opportunity and excited by it.

“What was nice is they approached me and said ‘you have naturally been taking this on’, people have naturally come to me.

“When Paul Fisher left it almost felt like naturally I had stepped into that role. It seems to be a good fit.”

With his previous experience in the community side of things he feels well placed to help that area of the club grow.

“It is important to build the community links,” he said.

“We need to be better at it, we are way off it at the moment, that is something we need to bring back in, that experience I think will be useful in this role.”

A successful team on the pitch is vital to help Comper and his team grow the club and he can’t think of a better team to have in place.

He said: “It is a cycle where if the team do well we will sell more tickets and there will be more income that can go back into the team and they do well.

“Our job is to make sure we are capitalising when they do well. If they are achieving we need to make sure we are ready to pounce on it and if the football staff are announcing big players we need to be ready to jump on the back of that and try and sell season tickets from it.

“Show me another football department at this level that is as good as Kenny Jackett, Andy Hessenthaler and Neil Harris, I don’t think it exists.

“I am confident that they will do their job and when they do theirs it is up to us to make sure we are capitalising off the back of it to make sure the club can grow and give them more to play with.

“We have a unique moment here where there is a real buzz around the Galinsons, a real buzz about what is happening on the pitch, we have to capitalise on it, if we don’t then we miss the boat.

“We are ambitious, the Galinsons are ambitious, they have given me the tools to play with in terms of staff and now it is up to us to deliver, which so far we are.”