Mark Stimson has ruled out making another bid for Dagenham striker Paul Benson after being priced out of the market.

Gillingham boss Stimson (pictured) had an offer for Benson rejected in the close season and the striker has since signed a new deal with the League 2 side. Last week, he struck four goals past Shrewsbury – inflating his price well beyond Gillingham’s reach.

"We did make an enquiry and asked how much it would take and unfortunately it’s way beyond what we could afford," said Stimson.

"They are in a decent position in the league and they aren’t going to let their best player go unless they think the money is right and possibly it’s a similar situation here.

"If someone offers the money the chairman wants for the boy (Simeon) Jackson then he will go and if they don’t he won’t go."

Stimson’s frustration at being unable to clinch the Benson deal mirrors his efforts to sign Stuart Fleetwood, who was then at Forest Green, in 2007.

He said: "When I first came here we had a deal near enough done but the only thing was it couldn’t happen until they were knocked out of the cup. Unfortunately by the time they were out he scored another 15 goals and they had been offered three times as much as we agreed."