Paul Scally believes that bringing Andy Hessenthaler back to Gillingham has lifted the gloom away from what was a desperate end to last season.

A final-day relegation saw the Gills dumped back into
League 2 - the division they had fought so hard to get out of just a year before.

The Gills chairman admitted life had been tough after the drop but a change in management, with Hessenthaler back at the helm, had brought some optimism to the club.

Mr Scally (pictured) said: "From when Hessy was appointed, things have started to look up and changed again.

"The place has got that feelgood factor back again and the team are together and so are all the staff. The club feels back to where we were perhaps a few years ago."

Mr Scally hasn’t hidden the club’s aims from anybody this season and feels an honest approach to the season is best for everybody.

"Why not (talk about it)," he said. "We’re here to get promoted out of this division and nothing else and when you don’t talk about it, you become more relaxed and can become complacent. That’s not acceptable."

Nobody will be in any doubt of the chairman’s expectations this season. "Nothing less than promotion will be successful," he stressed. "Anything less will be failure and we don’t want to fail this season."

Chairman in loan row. Click here for details...

Do you expect Gillingham to make an immediate return to League 1 this season? Have your say below.