Gillingham chairman Paul Scally believes his personal re-location to Dubai is to the club's long-term benefit.

Mr Scally is now based overseas but he claims that the move has reignited his passion for Priestfield, and desire to bring success back to the Gills.

He said: "Things are running more efficiently than it was before when I used to come in day to day and get bogged down in a thousand and one different issues that took us nowhere.

"The people I’m talking to in Dubai are very keen to invest in good schemes in the UK. What I have to do now is spend time drawing up the proposals to show what a good scheme it could be.

"There are a lot of people very interested in football in Dubai and who are seriously wealthy and well connected. I’m generating an awful lot of interest.

"I’m working non stop and every day I work on the football club – it was definitely the right decision.

"I think I needed to have a bit of space between myself and the business for a while. It was swallowing me up a bit.

"For the first time I took some of the abuse (from fans) personally and it bothered me for quite a long time.

"I needed to back off a little to get my head right again, which is what I’ve done, and I feel very positive and strong again now."

Mr Scally is in talks with the leader of Medway council, Cllr Rodney Chambers, and chairman of SEEDA, James Braithwaite, over a new arena in Medway.

"We’ve got two of the most important people in Medway battling with us and so we have to let it take its course now," said Mr Scally. "Whilst people might be bored of hearing about it, the stadium is a real thing and something that will take this club 100 years ahead.

"It’s very important that we establish ourselves with a substantial home of different quality and types of income streams that will be the backbone of the club."