GILLINGHAM chairman Paul Scally has expressed his disappointment that club captain Paul Smith has decided not to sign a new contract.

Smith, who says he has not been disloyal, turned down the new deal because he claimed it would have represented a 70 per cent reduction on his previous contract but Mr Scally dismissed the idea that the 33-year-old midfielder was undervalued.

He said: "I’m astonished that Paul Smith has chosen not to sign a new deal and help the club get back to the Championship.

"To suggest he would have taken a 70 per cent cut is wrong because he didn’t have a contract at all. He was out of contract.

"Smith has earned more money at Gillingham than any other footballer in the history of the club and was offered a new deal for a new division that put him up with the top earners at the club.

"I only want to talk about players who want to roll up their sleeves and help the club. It’s not the start of a new era – it’s the start of a sensible era. An era where our expenditure doesn’t exceed our income."

Smith insisted he never wanted to leave Gillingham where he has won a record four Player-of-the-Year awards in an eight-year spell that saw him play a part in two Wembley play-off finals.

And, after being attacked by fans on website message boards, he hit back at suggestions that he was being disloyal to a club where he made 393 appearances and scored 26 goals

He said: "People are entitled to their opinions but I don’t think I deserve this abuse. I’ve been accused of being disloyal, which is ridiculous after eight years. Win, lose or draw I always applauded our supporters at the end of a game

"I wanted to stay but, at the same time, I have a wife and two young children to support. I couldn’t afford to take the contract but it was a decision that didn’t come easily.

"I genuinely believed I would end my career at Priestfield. Putting on another club’s shirt will be strange but I’ve got to get on with it."

The next shirt Smith pulls on could well be Swindon, who jumped to the head of the queue when manager Andy King was first to open negotiations with the veteran midfielder.

Sheffield Wednesday, Walsall, Southend and Leyton Orient are also interested.