Fans react angrily at Priestfield following a poor Gillingham performance against Mansfield Town; Manager Neil Harris responds to the criticism

Gillingham boss Neil Harris wasn’t taking the weekend abuse personally.

His team were booed off the pitch at Priestfield after their 2-0 defeat to Mansfield Town and some fans chose to target the manager as well as he walked away past the main stand.

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Harris understands the frustration, with the Gills sitting 22nd in League 2 after nine games, with just two goals scored and a solitary win to their name.

Saturday’s defeat was a particularly low point, bullied into defeat by Mansfield Town.

“I understand,” said Harris, who has been with the Gills since taking over at the end of January.

“Fans have been brilliant with me and fans have been patient with the football club and the players, they always have been, fans shouting to me to make changes, to ‘come on and find a way’, I take it in completely the right spirit.

"Fans are passionate, I am a passionate man myself and I understand it and that is why I acknowledged it. All I can say is that it falls on my shoulders, I am the one in charge to try and turn it around, I will carry on doing that."

On the criticism aimed at him, he said: “I have managed at Millwall and Cardiff, that wasn’t personal. That was I think third party aimed at the manager about the team.

“The fans are patient but they have to vent off somewhere and if they shout at me while I am walking off to remind me - if they don’t think I know it is rubbish - then they are entitled to that. I didn’t take it personally because it wasn’t personally aimed at me. They were right. It is my job to get it right, I can accept that.

“As a player I accepted that if I kicked the ball off the pitch seven times unopposed then someone might shout at me to keep the