Stuart Nelson believes Gillingham’s slump began 15 months ago.

The goalkeeper was recalled on Sunday as Gills drew 0-0 with Northampton to beat the drop in League 1.

But Nelson believes their problems go back further than this season, pointing instead to how their 2015/16 promotion hopes disintegrated under then-manager Justin Edinburgh.

The 35-year-old said: “It started after Christmas last year. We beat Peterborough (on January 23, 2016) and went top and from then on, we’ve not won enough football matches.

“That’s where it started. It’s not been good enough but it’s not for the want of trying. I wouldn’t say there’s any player in that dressing room that hasn’t put in 100% effort, 100% of the time.

“I back my team-mates but sometimes it just doesn’t work.

“I’d flip that and say on the positive, we’ve had a terrible season but we didn’t get relegated. Chesterfield and Coventry have also had terrible seasons but they’re now facing League 2.

“There’s four teams in League 1 that go down and we’re not one of those teams. We can all breathe a big sigh of relief and look forward to next season and it being a better season.

“We’ve got to put that to bed. It started the season before but we’ve stopped that run now.

“We’ve finished the season positively, we’ve not got relegated and now I’m sure there will be a few comings and goings at the club.”

Read the full interview in Monday's Medway Messenger.