Neil Harris says his players will be ready for the challenge Dagenham will pose at the weekend.
Neil Harris sat down with the media ahead of Gillingham’s FA Cup clash with Dagenham & Redbridge to discuss his ambitions for making the third round, brighter horizons at ME7 and Callum Harriott's surprise arrival.
Love of the cups
"Did anyone see Saudi Arabia beat Argentina and Japan beat Germany? Anyone who thinks a league team should beat a non-league team are absolutely nuts. We won at Brentford and then Brentford beat Man City.
"We have had good cup games this season, except for a disappointing hour against Charlton. We have been excellent in the cups.
"We have made lots of chances in the league but we just haven't taken them. The cups have been different. We need to show the discipline at the back that we showed against Crawley on Tuesday and at the top end, 'come on fellas bring your shooting boots please!'"
Gills fans
"This fan base have had it tough for a period of time. One thing I will never do is pull the wool over their eyes; I will be 100 percent honest.
"For them to still support me, having not had the most successful reign in charge, because we haven’t won loads of games, because of where we find ourselves as a club at the moment, then that means a lot.
“It’s not easy every day but what drives me on is the fact that this club has got a brighter horizon, hopefully, coming soon, and everyone deserves that, now let’s move forward."
Callum Harriott signing
"He came onto the radar last week. He’s not played football for eighteen months and he’s not up to speed fitness-wise. He lives locally and he wanted to come in and work with us. We are going to give him an opportunity to prove himself and see where it takes us.
"He’s hungry for the opportunity and we have been lacking at the top end of the pitch. He has end product and pace. His pedigree and quality is very impressive. Let’s see what it brings."
Dagenham & Redbridge
“We have done our research and we know what to expect. We look forward to it and we will play with an element of freedom.
"They score goals but let loads in as well. I do expect a bit more of an open game of football against them. They like to get the ball wide and like to get it in the box, we have to make sure we nullify their threat and then be every bit as forward thinking as we were on Tuesday night at Crawley.
"We had an extremely difficult tie against Fylde in the first game, which went massively under the radar. We coped with the mental side of it, overcoming a non-league hoodoo at this football club. Dagenham will be a similar challenge.
“All that matters on Saturday is being in the third round, that is what we want. The third round draw is a massive highlight of the football calendar and we need to make sure we're in it.”