Manager Andy Hessenthaler has admitted Gillingham’s hopes of signing in-demand players like Clayton Donaldson are slim.

The striker, pictured, is out of contract at Crewe and last season’s 28-goal League 2 leading scorer has already attracted a lot of interest.

Hessenthaler said: "We will struggle to compete for those kinds of players and financially I don’t think we can.

"He scored goals and it will be difficult to compete. If we can squeeze the likes of Donaldson in (the budget) then you never know.

"Sometimes you have to pay over the odds or a little bit extra to get a striker in. They are the ones who get you the goals and get you the results."

Hessenthaler is looking for four forwards at present but won’t be rushed into doing deals.

"There are a number of forwards out there," he said. "But whether they are what we want or within the budget we will have to wait and see."

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