New Gillingham chief executive Paul Fisher: Bringing in new players, getting the fans back, new stadium and fresh investment are all challenges ahead

It’s the start of a new era at Gillingham Football Club with Paul Fisher joining as co-chairman and chief executive while Paul Scally, who has been at the helm for 27 years, takes a break from the day-to-day running of the club.

But what challenges face the new man at the helm? Here’s some of the topics that will be in the in tray as Gillingham look to recapture former glories on and off the pitch after some tough times in recent years.

Squad strengthening

Popular manager Neil Harris, who joined the club at the end of January this year, has built a new-look squad ahead of the League 2 campaign which is now two games old. The Gills picked up their first win of the season on Saturday, 1-0 against Rochdale at Priestfield thanks to one of the new recruits, Scott Kashket. He’s one of 13 new faces to have arrived at Gillingham in the summer, and with three more weeks until the transfer window closes, the prospect of further arrivals will be in the thoughts of most Gills fans.

Every manager will always want that extra player, the one stand-out star who could give his team the X-factor or the extra strength in depth needed as injuries or suspensions start to bite going into the autumn months. An extra player or two could yet be the difference between automatic promotion or play-offs and mid-table mediocrity but finances have never been flush at Priestfield, so it may be asking too much for any quickfire changes to the budget this month.

Bringing back the fans

One key component is obviously winning matches on the field. Success equals fans, which casual supporter doesn’t get more engaged if their team is at the top of the table each week rather than turning up knowing you’ll be happy with a battling goalless draw?

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