Gillingham boss Andy Hessenthaler has put his search for a new coach on the back-burner and will instead invest the money in new firepower on the pitch.

Hessenthaler is desperate to add to his attacking options before the League 2 season kicks off on Saturday against Cheltenham.

An injury to striker Adam Birchall has left the Gills short upfront but with Hessenthaler’s playing budget already maxed out he has been forced to redistribute finances from elsewhere to bring in new recruits.

"Finances do dictate," said Hessenthaler. "I have had a good chat with the chairman and it’s important that we try to get another striker in with Birchall out injured.

"If we get an injury to (Danny) Kedwell, with Dennis Oli, pictured, not fully fit and Stefan Payne injured, we really would be struggling. We’ve got a couple of strikers on the radar and we will see. We might have one in before Saturday."

Hessenthaler has been short in the managerial department since his assistant Ian Hendon departed for West Ham. Gills youth boss Darren Hare has since joined in to help with first-team training and it will stay that way for the time being.

Trialist Matthew Paterson, from Southend, featured in Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Peterborough and is due to start in Monday night's game at Ebbsfleet.

Hessenthaler said: "We will have a real good look at him and see what happens. He did fine when he came on. He’s a good size and we’ll wait and see."

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