by Luke Cawdell

Andy Hessenthaler faces a tricky January as he looks to strengthen his strikeforce.

The Gillingham manager wants strikers Frank Nouble and Jo Kuffour, both pictured, to return to Priestfield but knows he may have to off-load players first.

Gills chairman Paul Scally stated last week that the budget is spent and Hessenthaler must manoeuvre players to make funds available.

Hessenthaler said: "The chairman has been honest and we have to balance it somewhere along the line. The budget is done and we know the score.

"To bring someone in we may have to try and balance it up with someone else going but that’s not easy to do.

"If we have players here who we feel might need going out, we need teams that want to do that."

Nouble has returned to West Ham after a three-month loan deal and in January, Hessenthaler will attempt to bring him back until the end of the season.

A similar deal could be struck with Bristol Rovers for their striker Kuffour, who is a free agent in the summer. His loan expires at the end of this year.

Hessenthaler said: "We are a little concerned but who knows? We are hoping we can do something with Jo. I know Paul Buckle said he is not going anywhere unless it is right for them and too right."