GILLINGHAM chairman Paul Scally has rejected former player Adrian Pennock’s claims that the club owe him up to £100,000.

Pennock claims the club have reneged on a deal to give him a testimonial match and has instructed sports law firm Edwin Coe to pursue the matter.

The cult hero, who played 199 times for Gills before retiring through injury in 2002, says he accepted a lower lump sum when the club paid up the last year of his contract in exchange for a potentially lucrative testimonial game.

And Pennock claims that, despite setting up a testimonial committee, he has been frustrated in his attempts to arrange a game.

Mr Scally said he never made such a deal, claiming the responsibility to arrange the testimonial always laid firmly with Pennock.

He said: "It was never part of the deal that we would arrange a testimonial for him. I just said he could have a testimonial game because of his service to the club but he would have to sort it out himself. It was his responsibility.

"And I don’t know where they are getting this figure of £100,000 from. I’m astonished that he has taken this course of action. There is not a single Gillingham player who hasn’t been paid every penny due to them."

Pennock, who is manager of Conference South promotion-chasers Welling, said: "The fans will understand that it grieves me to have to take action against my old club. It really upsets me that it has come to this."

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