Andy Hessenthaler believes Saturday’s draw over Port Vale could be the springboard his side need to ramp up their promotion campaign.

The Gills fought back from a goal down to deservedly earn a point against fellow promotion hopefuls Port Vale at Priestfield.

Gills manager Hessenthaler (pictured) now wants his side to tighten up and build on the positive performance from the weekend.

He said: "I was delighted with the performance and I told them to keep doing what they are doing because this could be the start of a decent run if we believe in ourselves.

"If the players keep showing that effort and desire then the results will come. I would like to think the fans have seen it the way we’ve seen it and we couldn’t have done any more (on Saturday).

"With that last little bit of quality and the rub of the green we would have got the three points."

The Gills slipped to 10th in League 2 but Hessenthaler isn’t panicking about their position 12 games in.

"In the last four league games we have had a two wins, a draw and a loss, so that’s not bad form," he said.

"We can forget about the (Johnstone’s Paint) cup because we’re talking about the league now. That’s the most important thing. I am not too disappointed with the run we are on at the moment."

The Gills are still lacking the cutting edge upfront and prone to mistakes at the back, areas Hessenthaler knows need improving.

"90 minutes is a long time and you need to concentrate for the whole game," said Hessenthaler.

"We have spells at the moment where we are switching off and we are making it too easy for teams. We need to cut that out and also take our opportunities because that takes the pressure off us defensively."