Gillingham boss Gareth Ainsworth admits the club are having to rein in their spending this summer in a reversal of recent seasons.
The Gills spent their way out of trouble when the Galinsons took charge midway through the 2022/23 season and the club retained one of League 2’s bigger budgets since then.
That spending hasn’t paid off, with the Gills occupying 12th and 17th spot in the past two campaigns.
Ainsworth’s worked with an inferior budget before, when he started out at Wycombe Wanderers, and is geared up for another challenge as he attempts to make the Gills competitive again.
He said: “There’s going to be some big sides in the league this year. I want to be up there.
“I believe we’re a big club in League 2, but you look at some of the spending power of some of the clubs.
“I won’t name them, but there are rumours going around that some teams are really going for it this year. That just makes my challenge even better when we beat those teams.
“The Galinsons (co-owners Brad and Shannon) have put an enormous amount of money into this club in the last two years. There’s no way we could keep spending like that. It’s just not the right way. It’s not the right structure. It’s not the right baseline to run the club.
“I’m totally respectful that we’ll rein it in a little bit.
“Brad and Shannon love this place. All they want is the best for it. I know that they would back me if I really wanted to get someone in and really went for it, although they also trust me never to abuse that relationship as well.
“I think that’s a really nice place to be because I want to build something here.
“You don’t build by just flash in the pan stuff. You build by structure and belonging and environment. That’s what I want to do.
“I want Gillingham to be able to sustain the success when it comes.
“Hopefully the fans will understand that it may take that a little bit longer but it will come and it will be sustainable. Up, down and all over the place? That’s not the way I like to work.”
The Gills have so far made one summer addition with the signing of striker Seb Palmer-Houlden from Bristol City, paying an undisclosed fee for the 21-year-old.
They’ve been handing out one-year deals elsewhere with Glenn Morris, Bradley Dack, Max Clark and Euan Williams all agreeing terms for just another season. It’s another sign of being sensible.
Dack’s deal is one where the player chose the Gills ahead of what he could earn – the kind of sacrifice that the manager likes to see.
“There’s budget constraints now,” Ainsworth said. “There’s no way we can carry on spending the way we were and Bradley totally understands that and has gone ‘you know what, it’s not about that anymore, it’s about me’.
“He’s almost proving that he can still do it but also giving back to the club that started what a fantastic career he’s had and it’s great.”
Ainsworth was asked if the one-year deals were part of tightening up the spending.
“A little bit, yeah,” he said. “When I came in, obviously the club had probably overspent on the budget and didn’t want to get carried away with keep signing. We’re reining it back and it’s all part of the big plan of making this club successful.
“It’s a success we can sustain. We don’t just want to go crazy, buy loads of success and then people move on and we haven’t got any infrastructure to support us.
“I’m really proud when I look at Wycombe Wanderers. I took over when they were 22nd in League 2, and we took years and years to build, and drive and build, and now they’re a sustainable top-end League 1 team and their aspirations are the Championship every year.
“That’s something to be really proud of and if we’re going to get this club anywhere near that, that’s a definite success story and that’s the intention.”
