Gillingham boss Andy Hessenthaler believes automatic promotion will be tough, with nine wins from the final 10 games needed to achieve it.

The Gills start a run of games against lower placed sides on Saturday with the visit of Accrington and, after picking up seven draws from their last nine, Hessenthaler knows only wins will do.

Gillingham begin the weekend sitting seventh in League 2 and are seven points away from the automatic promotion places with 10 games to play.

Hessenthaler (pictured) said: "For automatic promotion and the top three, I would say we need to win nine of those games.

"It will be a tough ask for us but who knows what can happen in football. We could win our next nine games and achieve a fantastic promotion. We just need to keep plugging away and working hard."

Get our Gills news in your Facebook news feed byclicking here and 'liking' the page

The most likely route to League 1 looks to be the play-offs and the Gills are well placed for the end of season shake-up.

They have a five-point cushion over Torquay – the team below them – but Hessenthaler knows it is difficult to predict just what it will take.

He said: "It’s tricky as everyone seems to be inconsistent.

"We have 53 points now and six wins would take us to 71. That should be enough for the play-offs, although I could be wrong."

How do you think Gills are placed for automatic promotion? Have your say below.