Defender Max Ehmer believes there is a collective responsibility to ensure Gillingham score enough goals to stay up this season.

The Gills rarely threatened during their 2-0 home defeat to Plymouth on Saturday, as they stuck with their new wing-back formation.

Third-bottom Gillingham have not scored more than once since Neil Harris took charge at the end of January but they have picked up seven points from five fixtures.

Wing-back Ryan Jackson earned them a point at Morecambe prior to their defeat to the Pilgrims and, when asked if the back-line needed to ensure they offer an attacking threat, as well as their forward players, the centre-back said: “Yeah definitely.

“I think we get chances as well. You can see Conor (Masterson) steps in and goes forward sometimes, and we go up for set-pieces.

“It falls down to everyone to make sure we score goals and, obviously, keep them out.”

A second-half strike from Jordon Garrick and Luke Jephcott's penalty consigned Gillingham to their 17th league loss of the season.

• Report: Gillingham 0-2 Plymouth

• Honest assessment by Harris following Gills' defeat to the Pilgrims

But 30-year-old Ehmer insisted: “It’s not a setback, no. It’s a little blip in the road.

“We were never going to go the whole season unbeaten from when the gaffer came in. We’re a positive bunch.

“I think the gaffer has come in and been positive from day one, he’s positive now, and like I’ve said numerous times now, it’s next game, next game, whether we win 4-0 (or lose), it’s always about the next game.

“We’ve got a big one on Tuesday night (against AFC Wimbledon). Every game is a big game, but it’s definitely a big one on Tuesday night.”

The Gills remain five points from safety with 13 league matches to go, ahead of their big home match against 20th-placed AFC Wimbledon.

When asked if he felt there was enough in Gillingham’s squad to see them beat the drop, he replied: “Yeah, 100 per cent.

“For the first half especially (on Saturday), we have held a team that are fifth to long-range shots. We were the better team at Ipswich, we’ve beaten Cambridge, beaten Crewe.

“So I think from the five games, there’s been performances that show plenty to say that, yeah.”

Ehmer is, however, facing back-to-back relegations on his CV at present, having re-joined Gillingham last summer, after spending last season at Bristol Rovers who were relegated from League 1.

But he believes this Gills squad is in a better place than the Gas squad which he was a part of, saying: “It’s a better place here, yeah. We are playing better football.

“It’s different because we dropped into the relegation (zone) quite late (at Bristol Rovers) and tailed off towards the end.

“But here, we have got a new lease of life with the manager and we’re looking positively (at the situation).”

AFC Wimbledon are winless in the league in 13, in a run dating back to December 7, ahead of their trip to Priestfield. They were beaten 4-0 at Bolton at the weekend.