Ady Pennock has spoken for the first time about his desperate manhunt across London that saved Gillingham thousands.

Gillingham were left red-faced in January when just hours after signing defender Bondz N’Gala they were informed that new FIFA rulings meant he was ineligible to play.

Pennock, who had been Gills head coach for a month, claims N’Gala’s agent insisted his man was taking the wages regardless.

Pennock said: “We found out he couldn’t play for us but legally he could still take a wage and not kick a ball in anger.

"The chairman was upset about it, Gwen (Poynter, club secretary) was upset about it and in defence of those two, FIFA didn’t tell the FA and the FA didn’t tell us. We didn’t know this new rule.

“I asked Gwen to give me all the forms for him to void it.”

Pennock, who had been desperate for defensive recruits, was about to spend the next eight hours trying to cancel the deal.

He said: “I phoned his agent up and he said ‘no, he’s going to stay there, going to pick up his wage’. I spoke to Bondz and he said yes he would sign it. The next minute his agent called up and said he wouldn’t.

“I agreed to meet Bondz at Lakeside and I left at 5pm. But by 7pm I couldn’t get hold of him. His agent kept saying he wouldn’t sign.”

Pennock wasn’t giving up and headed to London, driving around looking for the 27-year-old centre-back.

“Gwen kept calling asking if I had found him,” said Pennock. “I hadn’t, I was still driving around. I went to his home. In the end I got to Bondz and he agreed to do it.

“He was so upset. He had a wife and a baby on the way and he wasn’t getting a wage in. I eventually persuaded him to sign and I got back to Gillingham at half-two in the morning.

“I said to Gwen, are there many Division 1 managers doing this for their club? My missus was asking where the hell had I been. I was doing it to help Gwen and the chairman because we were giving him a lot of money.

“The chairman was pleased because I did it. I saved the club thousands.”