Carlisle United are one of League Two’s form teams but not far behind are tomorrow’s opponents Gillingham.
Only Carlisle and Stockport have picked up more points than the Gills over the last 12 games as the Kent side have put serious relegation concerns behind them.
Gillingham manager Neil Harris reflected that in his assessment for the club website: “What a challenge for us, playing a team that are third in the league, consistent all season, but we are a team right at the top of the form guide.
“We are in a position where we can look forward to those big games, the tests against good sides, to see where we are at.
“Moving forward for the rest of the season and into next year we want to pitch ourselves against the best players in the league and see where they are at compared to us.
“We are in form, I love playing here at home, the crowd are right behind us, it is going to be a good occasion.”
The Gills have won six of their seven home games this year and Bradford are the only team to have taken points away with them this year – and two serious defensive errors gave them both goals.
Carlisle moved third in the table on Tuesday after a 0-0 draw at Bradford.
Harris said: “Carlisle are a good side, having a really good season and Paul (Simpson) has done a terrific job. They have quite a big squad, so when players are injured or out of form they can put other players in.
“They have been very consistent over a period of time in how they play and they have some real attacking threat.
“It’s another challenge for us, one we can really enjoy and attack. We need some more points but we need to build on performances against the top sides – that’s the challenge for us over the last nine games of the season. We have to step up our game against the best teams.”
