Gills keeper Simon Royce may be kept waiting for a new deal as manager Mark Stimson admits finances remain tight.

Royce expressed his desire to keep on playing for the Gills after his current deal runs out in the summer.

The veteran keeper is keen to have something sorted soon, but that may not be possible.

Stimson said: “I understand where Simon Royce is coming from, but what we have to see is what division we’re in and what we’re going to attack next year because that does make a big, big difference.

“When the time is right we’ll speak with Simon.

“I’ll just be saying the same tune, ‘look, get this season done, let’s get up and it makes everything more rosier’. If we don’t then we have to look at budgets and what we’ve got available.”

Stimson, who has a close relationship with Royce, sympathises with the position many players are in at this time of the season.

He said: “You want your future sorted out and you want to know what you’re doing.

“It’s not just in football, it’s in the world at the moment with the recession. We just have to be honest with the players and hopefully they can accept that and deal with it.”