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Gillingham manager Steve Evans keen to do business in the January transfer window if he can

05:00, 03 December 2021

updated: 08:37, 03 December 2021

Gillingham boss Steve Evans hopes to add extra quality to his squad in January and will meet the chairman to see what can be done.

Finances will dictate who, if anyone, Evans can bring in but he’s already putting in the miles looking at potential targets for when the window opens next month.

Gillingham manager Steve Evans keen to find out what he can do in January
Gillingham manager Steve Evans keen to find out what he can do in January

Restrictions to their transfer dealings are in place already due to the club’s monitored loan agreement - terms of which are confidential - but Evans has in the past two seasons improved the squad in January and hopes to do the same again.

Evans said: “Myself and the chairman will sit down and see what business, if any, we can do in January.

“In recent weeks the chairman has been, from my point of view, unfairly criticised. I have tried to keep away from it, other than speaking the facts about when players are available or not. We will sit and try and come up with a plan that sees us add a bit of quality with the group

“The first thing I have to do is sit down with the chairman and understand where we are. I don’t know where we are financially, the chairman controls that.

“I do think when he gets criticised I shake my head. We have never been a Bury or a Bolton or Wigan. We may disagree on what we are trying to do at times but that is normal eh? That is healthy to disagree with your boss.

“If you walk in and agree with your boss every day I suggest you change jobs. I 100% believe that. I think there are going to be times when you disagree on certain things but it is my job to put into place his wishes because ultimately he pays me.

“People think because you have disagreements and say different things at times that you are fighting, people assumed it last week and someone from the press asked how I was with the chairman. We are going to disagree, we are going to have different opinions.

"Do we want Gillingham Football Club in the bottom four, do we want them to be winning games? We don’t want to be bottom four and we want to be winning, but we are both realistic to know we are better with the players that are out injured. We are significantly better.”

Evans may be limited to what he can do if the squad is limited to 24 players, as per terms of their loan agreement. QPR loan striker Charlie Kelman was sent back and his deal will most certainly be torn up, allowing the youngster to play elsewhere and the Gills to look for someone new.

There will be a decision to be made over Norwich loan man Dan Adshead, dependent on how his injury rehab is going by the end of December. He suffered a broken foot last weekend.

Evans’ other two loan players are goalkeeper Jamie Cumming, from Chelsea, and midfielder Dan Phillips, from Watford. Both have excelled, with the latter only being hindered by a couple of injuries.

Christian Maghoma (Eastleigh) and Henry Woods (Dover) are both out on loan, on deals which expire in January.

Once again the Gills may be facing a decision on whether to cash in on their best players, with the likes of Kyle Dempsey, Vadaine Oliver and Jack Tucker on the watchlist of some bigger clubs.

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