Neil Harris says his team are looking forward to the challenge of playing Carlisle at the weekend.
Neil Harris is relishing the opportunity of coming up against any Sky Bet League Two heavyweight and has challenged his Gillingham team to show everyone exactly how far they have come.
The Gills have impressively muscled their way off the bottom of the table and away from danger but now all of their nine remaining fixtures are against teams above them in the division.
Next up is promotion-chasing Carlisle and Harris is asking his men to be fearless in their pursuit of points.
“We go into the game with optimism, or there would be no point in playing the game,” said a relaxed Harris ahead of the fixture. “We are excited by it. We are looking forward to it. They are third in the league and have been consistent all season and we are a team right at the top of the form guide; we are in a position that we can now look forward to the big games against good sides.
“We want to pitch ourselves against the best players in the league and see where they are at compared to us. They are a challenge for us and we have to step up our games against the best teams.
“Naturally for a team that are in the top three, they are going to come here to try and win a game of football. They will ask a lot of questions from us defensively.
“We are a team now that are in good form and looking forward to fixtures. We love playing at home and the crowd are always right behind us.
“I’m asking my players to keep the standards we have set, don’t step off an inch. Don’t give any of the teams around us at the bottom any thought process of reeling us in. Let’s chase teams above us, enjoy the momentum and keep picking up points.
“I have trust and faith in us as a group. We are a threat and we have come a long way in a short space of time. My full focus is winning a game of football on Saturday.”