Gillingham manager Neil Harris rates his side during a mixed 2022/23 campaign in League 2

Gillingham manager Neil Harris is looking towards a bright future for the club.

The Gills beat top-seven side Salford on Monday and recently defeated the eventual champions of League 2 Leyton Orient. Only Stockport County bettered their form in the second half of the season.

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Harris’ side looked dead and buried in mid-January, six points adrift at the bottom of the table, with just two wins and a paltry six goals from their first 23 games.

However, fresh investment led to new signings and a remarkable turnaround. They ended the season just three points off mid-table.

He said: “We ended up three points off 12th but I still don’t see that as a success for the football club.

“That is not where we want to be as a football club, that’s not where Brad (Galinson, the owner) wants to be.

“The first half of the season was my most difficult spell in professional football. I am an honest person, too honest sometimes. You do doubt yourself.

“Was I getting the best out of the group? Maybe I was. Maybe the group didn’t have any more to give, I don’t know, but it wasn’t right.

“First half of the season was a disaster and I would mark that a half out of 10. We got our boots on the right feet and I always managed to name 11 players.

“Second half of the season? Outstanding, brilliant, 41 points (from 23 games) leaves us second placed in the second half of the season. It’s a big score, an eight or nine out of 10 second half of the season.”

In between those contrasting fortunes in the league, the Gills managed to pull off a shock win at Premier League Brentford in the Carabao Cup and enjoyed a trip to another top-flight side Wolves while also reaching the Third Round of the FA Cup and a sell-out game against