Gillingham manager Mark Stimson has expressed his disappointment at keeper Alan Julian’s decision to hand in a transfer request.

The Gills boss has accepted his wish, though, and said his reserve keeper is free to go – providing somebody wants him.

Stimson said: "You have to be good in your position and there need to be people who want you. It’s not as easy as going on the transfer list and five or six teams come in for you. You have to be able to deal with where you’re going to go. I haven’t had a phone call.

"He’s been on the loan circuit for six weeks and I haven’t had a call. If someone comes in, he wants to go and the deal is good for the club he will go.

"I can see his point of view and I’m also disappointed. Modern-day football players are a different breed. I was reading comments from Sir Alex Ferguson on the modern-day player and he’s so correct. Unfortunately, the lower you go the worse it can get. The boys at the top really look after themselves and do things the right way. They do everything they can to be at the top.

"Once you drop down a few levels, players expect without actually doing things. You are as good as your last game and as good as your last training session.

"I probably can’t get any more out of him on the training ground, that’s fantastic, but sometimes don’t forget where the old bread was buttered."

Stimson signed Julian in the summer of 2008 from Stevenage, where under the Gills boss he was the club’s number one choice. Julian started this season in goal but was soon dropped and hasn’t appeared in the league since being replaced at half-time against Hartlepool in August.