THE Gills Independent Supporters’ Club are to make a fresh attempt at a reconciliation with Gillingham chairman Paul Scally over their long-running feud.

At the annual meeting of the supporters' club, members backed the committee with a mandate for chairman Mike Keskeys to try and resolve the differences between the GISC and the Gillingham chairman.

Mr Scally has long insisted that he will recognise the club only if there is a change of committee. He has also imposed a life ban on former GISC chairman Alan Liptrott for refusing to sell him his website domain name.

The GISC have been heartened by a report that Mr Scally would welcome their help in providing funding for equipment to furnish Priestfield’s gymnasium.

Mr Keskeys stressed to the meeting - and all fans - that the GISC were committed to supporting the parent club.

He said: “We want to sponsor matches, we want to sponsor players, goalposts, corner posts and anything connected to Gillingham Football Club that can be sponsored. We’re here to help.”

Previous offers of assistance have been rejected by Mr Scally. Mr Keskeys added: “We will pledge money to the club, providing we know where it is going and that we are afforded recognition in the programme. As part of any agreement we would want the life ban on Alan Liptrott lifted. “Talk to us Paul, we’re here waiting.”

Mr Keskeys had earlier easily survived a vote of no confidence from member Matt Johnson who was unhappy at the wording of a statement issued by the GISC following Gillingham’s announcement that the club’s traditional home blue strip would be replaced by white.

In the statement, he urged supporters to buy the then second strip of blue and black. Since then the blue and black shirts have been elevated to the first strip.

Mr Keskeys admitted that with hindsight the wording could have been better but the statement had been rushed out in response to media deadlines.

“All I said was that if fans didn’t like the white shirts they shouldn’t buy them. At no time did I call on anyone to boycott Gillingham Football Club, Seafrance or encourage offensive correspondence to Seafrance or Paul Scally.

“The GISC condemn without hesitation and unreservedly all such correspondence to Seafrance and Paul Scally.”

Subsequent investigations found that many of the e-mails sent to Seafrance had come from an unofficial Millwall website called House of Fun.

Since the controversy, Mr Keskeys had been subjected to what he described as a website hate campaign and had even been threatened while out shopping. I do this job voluntarily and don’t need the hassle,” he said.

“I've been called vermin and scum and in a supermarket car park was approached by an individual who told me to watch my step. This caused enormous distress to my family and I was prepared to resign until the rest of the committee talked me out of it.”

When the vote was taken, just two, including Mr Johnson, voted against.