Manager Mark Stimson admitted that it is proving more difficult to attract players to Priestfield despite Gillingham’s promotion back to League 1 – as so many clubs are competing for the same targets.

Stimson said that the Gills are looking at a certain calibre of player and he will only have two trialists with his squad on Thursday when they resume training.

"We’re going for players that other teams are interested in but it’s all down to finances," said Stimson. "We have to keep in our budget and keep the club stable.

"There are a lot of players that would like to join us. We’ve got 13 senior professionals now and we need to add a few to that but we can be a bit picky.

"I want to bring in quality now. Sometimes you can have too many trialists and that lowers the standard. As far as I can see, I’ve only invited two players in at the moment.

"That means it is an opportunity for the younger boys to join in and see whether they’ve worked on the programmes that we’ve given them during the summer. They might be able to force themselves into the first-team picture."

Meanwhile, Gillingham are believed to be close to agreeing a new contract to keep forward Andy Barcham at the club. His Priestfield deal expired at the end of last season.