GILLINGHAM'S rejection of Southend's bid for Darren Byfield seems to have only delayed the daparture of the club's leading scorer.

The Gills snubbed their League 1 rivals' £20,000 offer for the marksman on transfer deadline day, a price which was way off chairman Paul Scally's valuation of the player, but he admits Byfield may leave at the end of the season.

Byfield has hit seven goals this term but he is apparently keen to test himself at a higher level.

Mr Scally said: "He wants to move on and play in the Championship, but who knows, if we get into the play-offs, we have a chance."

Mr Scally admitted he was unhappy with Southend's approach for Byfield and is considering reporting them.

He said: "They offered us £20,000 at first and they were trying to play games. If they had come in with an offer of £125,000 I would have accepted it.

"That's subject to the player wanting to go, that's his choice. But I don't think he would have wanted to go to Southend."

Gills boss Ronnie Jepson insists Byfield is fully committed to the Priestfield club, despite the speculation surrounding his future.

He said: "I had a one-to-one with him and he gave me nothing short of 110 per cent commitment. That's what I expect and all credit to the lad that with the speculation that's been going on he came out and gave us the performance he did [at Swansea]."

Byfield joined Gillingham on a free transfer from Sunderland in the summer of 2004.* DON'T MISS KENT ONLINE'S IN-DEPTH COVERAGE OF ALL THE ACTION INVOLVING THE COUNTY'S TOP SIDES EVERY SATURDAY.