Neil Harris wants his players to enjoy the occasion as Premier League Leicester make the trip to Kent for an FA Cup third round tie.
The magic of the FA Cup will be well and truly fizzing at MEMS Priestfield Stadium on Saturday when Gillingham welcome Premier League side Leicester City.
With every seat eagerly snapped up by excited supporters and many more tuning in to watch the David and Goliath clash live on the BBC, FA Cup fever is in full swing at ME7.
Gillingham boss Neil Harris, who previously masterminded a cup win over the Foxes as manager of Millwall in 2017, has called on his troops to rise to the occasion and give the home fans a reason to roar. “We want to be competitive,” he said. “We will try and have a right go and cause an upset.
“Priestfield will be full and when this place is full there is a great atmosphere and a great feel to it. It won’t intimidate the opposition who have world class players but we can try and make it as awkward as we can for Leicester.
“It is an exciting fixture. We need some luck but we can do it with a smile on our face and enjoy it.”
The Gills will be relishing the opportunity to challenge top-flight opponents and the 2015-16 Premier League Champions boast a number of household names such as Jamie Vardy, James Maddison and Youri Tielemans. Harris, however, has said this could be the chance for one of his own players to ‘write their name into folklore at the club’.
“I want the players to test themselves against top quality opposition,” he said. “Let’s see where this takes us. I want to enjoy the environment, I want to enjoy the atmosphere and I want our fans to come and enjoy the day.
“Leicester will have the football, no secret to that, anyone coming to watch, don’t expect Gillingham to command the footballing areas. We know it is going to be tough but we will do everything to put in a strong performance.
"Towards the end if it is tight of course it changes the mindset. They are going to want to win and so are we. To start with, it is about having a suitable game plan and containing Leicester but for us to also try and land a punch on them.
“We have earnt the right to be here. I like to see FA Cup upsets, and I would love to see one on Saturday.
“We have to pull off a monumental effort to try and get a positive result but this is the beauty of the FA cup isn’t it? Anything’s possible.”