Chairman Paul Scally believes Gillingham’s FA Cup third round clash with Aston Villa will be worth £250,000 to the club.

The Gills booked themselves a date with the Premiership side after beating Stockport on Tuesday night and with ITV broadcasting the match live from Priestfield, the money will be rolling in.

Television revenue will bring in £160,000 and another £30,000 was heading Gillingham’s way in prize money after winning the second round replay at Edgeley Park.

Mr Scally said: “It’s a bit like the old days with some great news, some great fun and some great times.

“Fair play to the 150-odd people who went to Stockport in freezing cold conditions. Those people won’t have seen a performance like that in a long, long time, it was fantastic.

“Everyone says it’s not about the money, it’s about the football but in these difficult times, it’s about the money as well.

“This has put us in a very strong financial position and helped us with our budget this season. The game is probably worth £250,000 – it’s a serious amount of money.

Gillingham recently announced a modest profit for the financial year ending May 2008 and Mr Scally remains confident that the future for the club is bright.

He added: “We’re coming back and we’re coming back strong. The demons of the past have been banished.

“The lads who took us to Wembley last time were a great bunch but we’ve moved on from that now.

“There will always be heroes and legends at this football club and now we’ve got some new heroes."

Gillingham remain in debt to the Bank of Scotland through a £3.3 million overdraft but Mr Scally believes they are still committed to the club.

He said: “The bank are impressed with how we’re running the business. We’re in difficult times. There’s a world recession and the fact that we’re moving forward and getting stronger is a great sign for the future.”