By Luke Cawdell

Gillingham boss Andy Hessenthaler insists the club won’t be held to ransom by excessive wage demands.

Hessenthaler, pictured, has spent the last fortnight on the phone to various agents, managers and advisors as he seeks to reshape his squad. He knows there are individuals out for what they can get financially, but they won’t be welcomed to Priestfield.

"People just have to be more realistic when it comes to finances," said Hessenthaler.

"Sometimes agents are not.

"We won’t be playing second fiddle to people. If we want to do a deal we will do a deal, and if it’s not right then we won’t have people coming back to us after not being able to get something somewhere else.

"We want players who want to play for the football club, simple as that. We won’t be going into an auction. A lot of our time now is spent in an auction with these agents and it is difficult to get the players you want because it is all about money."

The Gills boss is keen to get deals done and dusted early this summer but knows that may not be an easy task.

He said: "I have been in pretty much every day and it’s frustrating because you want to get deals done.

"We would like to do all of our shopping before we go away, if we go away next month, and know that we have players coming in but at the moment that’s not the case."

Is Andy Hessenthaler's stance right for Gills as they seek to build a promotion-winning side next season? Have your say in our comments section below.