Gillingham boss Andy Hessenthaler has told any of his players who are wilting under the pressure to succeed: "If you can’t deal with it then don’t play."

The Gills' only goal this season is promotion but after three League 2 matches, Hessenthaler’s men are still seeking their first win.

"My expectations are high and so are the chairman’s," said Hessenthaler.

"We said that from day one, and they have to deal with that. If they can’t deal with it then don’t play because at the end of the day we are good enough to be in that top three come the end of the season.

"We have a good set of players here and the chairman has backed us.

"I inherited 14/15 players under contract, we brought a few boys in, re-signed a few out of contract and brought another one in with experience in Matty Lawrence. The chairman has given us everything so far.

"We know the position we are in, we have got to go up and we have to deal with it.

"It’s as simple as that. We have to have players out there who can deal with that situation."

Despite the early setbacks, Hessenthaler is quite rightly remaining upbeat.

"We’ve dropped seven points but you have to stay calm," he said. "Those are the good managers and the good teams. If you start panicking at this stage then what real chance have you got?"

Have the Gillingham players got the mental strength to cope with the pressure? Comment below.

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