Gillingham walk out with FA Cup opponents Dover Picture: Barry Goodwin

By Luke Cawdell

Andy Hessenthaler has threatened to put the majority of his team on the transfer list following Gillingham's FA Cup defeat by Dover on Saturday.

The Gillingham boss insisted he was not going to walk away from the club after their 2-0 first round defeat to the non-league side at Priestfield, and now looks set to let go of some under-performing players.

"I might have to clear the decks," said Hessenthaler, after his team were outplayed by Blue Square Bet South part-timers Dover.

"If it means putting them all on the transfer list, I’ll do that. Let’s see how many teams come in for our players. I bet there aren’t many. We need to get some proper characters into the football club."

Gills Manager Andy Hessenthaler speaking after the match

Hessenthaler met chairman Paul Scally on Saturday night to discuss where the club go next. They are now out of all cup competitions and sitting 20th in League 2.

He said: "I know the chairman and he knows what we’re dealing with.

"Since I’ve been at the club I’ve put every hour and every minute into it that I can.

"He knows I care about the club and I believe in my own ability. He believes he’s got the right man and whether we have the right players or not, I don’t know. As a manager, the buck stops with me."

He added: "There is a challenge ahead and I want to take that on. He believes in me, I’m sure he does, and I’m looking forward to the battle ahead."

Bringing in new players will not come cheap and Hessenthaler knows
there are limitations on what he can do.

He said: "It’s not easy. You are trying to attract players here and they’ll look at our last couple of games and they might not fancy coming down here. The battle is on."

How many players should Andy Hessenthaler put on the transfer list? Have your say below.