By Luke Cawdell

The incoming Gillingham management team of Andy Hessenthaler and Mark Robson know that anything other than promotion will be deemed as 'failure' by chairman Paul Scally.

Mr Scally’s expectations were made clear when the pair were offered the job on Friday in Dubai.

The Gills chairman, pictured, said: "We had almost two days of non-stop discussions and they understand what is needed and what is expected. Anything less than promotion next season will be considered a failure.

"It’s not being blase, or cocksure, I just feel that we should be pushing on from League 1, not pushing out from League 2.

"I fully accept that it isn’t going to be easy because for everyone that plays us it’s possibly going to be their biggest game of the season. It is going to be difficult.

"The players that we have at the club which we’ve retained have got to know they are going to be involved in a bit of a war next season. The management that come in also need to know that every game will be like our last. Doing well in the division means we’re in the top three, not finishing in the top half.

"That will bring its own pressures because there won’t be a settling-in period. It’s not a question of, ‘well, I’ll have a year to settle in and a year to have a go’, I want us to be pushing hard from the very first kick of the ball."

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