Gills chairman Paul Scally insists he won’t be rushed into appointing a successor to Andy Hessenthaler.

Mr Scally (pictured) is carefully considering a mountain of applications for the post of Gillingham manager.

And he is refusing to put a time frame on when the job will be done, although the interview process has already begun.

He said: "We have had a substantial number of applicants which is very encouraging.

"We have had a lot of CVs, a lot of interest and it is going to take me a lot of time to go through these to determine who I want to see.

"I shall do it as quickly as possible and I have no dates in mind. I will see who I have to see when I can see them, and I will make an appointment as soon as possible."

And Mr Scally is clear about the person he wants, saying bluntly: "The man who can get us promotion would be a good start."

The man who steered Barnet to League 2 safety last season, Martin Allen, took over as favourite among the bookies at the end of last week, ahead of Mark Robson – tipped by many to be the successor to Andy Hessenthaler for the manager’s job.