Manager Neil Harris’ exuberant post-match celebration at Colchester was a thank-you to the fans who kept faith in him.

Gillingham boss Harris saluted the 1,200-plus away fans who backed his men and watched them win the match 2-0 - climbing off the bottom of League 2.

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It has been a tough ride for Harris since taking over at the club, suffering relegation last season and hitting rock bottom this term. He’s faced criticism and some called for him to be sacked. A new owner has now changed the fortunes of the club.

Back-to-back 2-0 wins have seen the Gills start the recovery and Harris has his spark back.

The Gills boss said: “It has been tough for all of us and the fans have been brilliant with me. I don’t mind five or six people shouting at me, walking back on a home game, that is all it has been, that has been because they have been fed up and they have to shout at someone. I would rather it be me than the players.

“I think the majority of them never lost faith in me as a manager, they realised how tough it has been. That was an opportunity for me to build that chemistry again for us, to show my appreciation to them for backing me, in difficult times.

“I promised when I took over that I was building something here and I would get us to a better place, that I was going to build an infrastructure and that I was going to build belief and it has been difficult in the last five months to try and honour that promise, but we have a chance again now.”

It’s been a quick turnaround for the Gills, having been booed off at the end of the year with the crowd chanting ‘you’re not fit to wear the shirt.’ In early December, after defeat to Salford City, Harris had a row with a supporter who he felt overstepped the mark.

Harris remained confident a takeover was on the horizon and better times were ahead. The fans are now enjoying seeing their club being rebuilt.

Fans came in their numbers to watch a new-look team beat Hartlepool last weekend and backed it up with another important win on Saturday, at Colchester.

Harris said: “Last week’s home game was up there with Sheffield Wednesday last year and my first game, against Crewe, this one was the best away game of the year from them, they came rejuvenated, came for the team.

“I think if we had been 2-0 down they would have been the same because they believe in us again, all we are doing is building that chemistry between the terraces and the pitch and we need to keep doing that.

“Last week we needed to get going, it was a bit of a relief to get going, to get off the mark again. I thought we completely dominated the game last week, (against Colchester) we were up against a big aggressive side and we knew we had to be better than we were last week, we weren’t as good on the ball but against the ball was better.

“It was a massive result for us because it is our first away win of the season in the league and that gets that out the way ahead of going to Swindon (this coming Saturday).”

Harris accepts the past was tough but is now looking forward to a brighter future.

He said: “What has gone is irrelevant, my mind is about looking forward now, I am really pleased to be here and manager of this football club, this was another great step in the right direction for us.”