Gillingham's defeat at Shrewbury on Saturday left them further adrift of the automatic promotion places in League 2 but boss Andy Hessenthaler isn’t panicking.

He still believes the Gills can mount a challenge on the top three clubs despite their eighth league defeat of the season at Shrewsbury. It leaves the Gills 10 points off third-placed Crawley.

"There are still 21 games to go and there is no real panic," said Hessenthaler (pictured).

"There are 63 points to play for and we are still in the area we want to be. But we can’t keep putting in performances like (the one on Saturday).

"We need to bounce back and we need to show a lot more than we did on Saturday. I am disappointed but we won’t get carried away. People get excited when we are on a good run and when we have a kick in the teeth we still don’t get carried away."

The 46-year-old admitted he would have liked to have been on the pitch at Shrewsbury.

"I would have kicked a few people and showed a little bit more passion and desire," added Hessenthaler.

"We are still confident with the squad but it was a bit of an eye opener.

"We need to take points off those teams in and around us. We made it too easy for them by not turning up. You can carry the odd player who may have an off-day.

"In the last nine games we’ve had five wins, two draws and two losses. On paper that’s not too bad."