SEAFRANCE will decide early in the New Year whether to continue its shirt sponsorship with Gillingham.

Despite the club’s financial problems in recent weeks, the cross-Channel operator said it had not yet made a final decision.

With Chatham-based Kent Reliance Building Society confirming its continued interest in sponsorship, there may be pressure on SeaFrance to come to a quick decision.

SeaFrance general manager Robin Wilkins said it was too early to say whether the firm would continue as shirt sponsor. He said: “A decision will be made sometime early in the New Year. It’s not something that’s on our radar at the present time.”

He added: “No doubt, that’s the time we will sit down with the chairman and decide where we are going and what’s happening.” SeaFrance continued to evaluate what the sponsorship was worth. “We think we have had a good run,” Mr Wilkins said.

“We’ve got our name on their shirt to make us well-known. I don’t think that if somebody’s having a tough time in business, it affects the guy in the street in the same way.”

As for results, he hoped the team did well but added: “If they’re in the top or bottom half of the table doesn’t affect our degree of exposure. We hope they will have a good run in cup competitions because we get extra value from the exposure.

"As a football supporter, I’d like to see the results go their way but the results themselves wouldn’t cause a re-think.”

Kent Reliance Building Society confirmed it would still like to sponsor the Gills. The Chatham-based financial group lost out to SeaFrance in the last round of bidding.

At the start of the season SeaFrance found itself under fire from some Gills fans after the club announced it was changing to a predominantly white strip from its traditional blue.

The company denied having anything to do with the decision which was later reversed.