Gillingham are determined to avoid overspending in their January search for attacking talent.
Manager Gareth Ainsworth has outlined his desire to add goals to the Gills squad, but has already admitted the money being spent elsewhere this month is crazy, something backed up by the club’s managing director.
Joe Comper admits that they’ve previously been the club shelling out money at the midway point of a season, in the pursuit of instant success, but that it won’t be happening now.
He said: “It’s busy, and there are a lot of conversations, but I don’t expect us to do five or six in, five or six out. I think it will be a couple in, maybe a couple out.
“What people aren’t going to see is us spending ridiculous money on something, chasing anything this season. We’re not going to do that. We’ve done it (before).
“If people want to see that, they’re going to be disappointed. It will either be sensible long-term decisions which help us in the short-term or it will be short-term decisions which help us in the short-term.
“We need to keep our heads. We can’t panic and we can’t go back to what we’ve done in the past, trying to solve problems immediately, because we suffer for them years down the line.
“We’ve got experienced people in the building. (Manager) Gareth Ainsworth and Richard Dobson, they’ve kept their heads, they know the plan. They’re making assessments on the club in general, what needs to improve, what’s right already.
“We’re calm. There’s no outside noise that’s impacting and making us panic. We’ll just go about what we think is the right thing to do.
“There’s not going to be anything drastic which doesn’t make sense for the club in the long-term.”
The Gills fans can expect additions and there have been strong rumours linking them to Barnet forward Callum Stead, a 26-year-old who scored at Priestfield in a 1-1 draw back in November.
He bagged 18 goals on the way to Barnet winning promotion from the National League last season and has been a key man for them in attacking areas at the higher level.
What the Gills have to consider is whether to do business now – at a higher cost – or wait for the summer. Stead is a player out of contract at the end of this campaign and an example of where they have to balance this season’s aims and their long-term plans.
The Gills sit 16th in the table and are still missing parts of the jigsaw as they chase success this season. Eight points is the gap to the play-offs and promotion still remains part of their hopes.
In the summer, the Gills will have up to 20 professionals out of contract, giving Ainsworth an opportunity to put his mark on the team.
Plenty of League 2 clubs have already done business this month, and the Gills are still competitive payers in the division. Despite a cut of £500,000 on their budget from last season, they remain among the highest spenders.
The Gills had paid out big sums to ensure their survival in the Football League when the Galinsons took charge three years ago, but with those players now off the wage bill, the club is keen to manage the finances more efficiently.
“There are less players to choose from in January and the money is ridiculous,” Comper said.
“We’ve looked at players even lower down the pyramid that we think can make us better, good for us going forward.
“We’re putting good money forward and being outbid by £1,000 a week from people in the league below us. We’re not going to get sucked into that.
“We’re putting values on players. We’re packaging the whole thing up and looking at what the transfer fee will cost us, what will their weekly wage costs us, what they would cost us over the course of a two-and-a-half-year contract? Is that good value for us? That’s the value we put on a player.
“If the transfer fee makes it much higher, if the wage makes it much higher, sadly, we have to walk away.
“That’s how any business should run, particularly a football club. Otherwise, you end up making short-term decisions that you regret in the future.”
Budgets don’t guarantee success, as was reflected last season in League 2, with the promoted clubs benefiting from managerial stability rather than buying power. Financial heavyweights MK Dons have only won two of their last seven and sit fifth in the table.
“All of the top three budgets in the league finished in the bottom seven,” Comper said.
“It’s not all about money. Our budget is good, it’s competitive, but it’s also far more sensible, and it’s far more in line with where our turnover is in the league.
“We’re spending what we should be in comparison to everybody else. That’s what we’re aiming for. We’re still ambitious, we’re still pushing to be at the top end of the league, but we’re also not looking to do it by spending well beyond our means.
“We’re not going to go stupid and make sure five players come in. It’s not going to happen, it will probably only be a couple.”
Gillingham have sent young defender Logan Dobbs out on loan again, joining Isthmian League side Ramsgate.
Elsewhere, Ben Clark has agreed a permanent move to Sheppey United after his professional contract with the Gills expired at the end of 2025, joining another of the club’s former players at Holm Park, after Kieron Agbebi moved there on loan from Dover.
