GILLINGHAM keeper Tony Bullock is putting his coaching ambitions to one side as he vies for the number one jersey at Priestfield.

Bullock admits that he wants to qualify as a coach, but insists his main priority is to become the club's first choice stopper.

He said: "First and foremost I've got a two-year playing contract and I'm here to try and get myself into the team.

"I want to play. There are already two very good goalkeepers down here in Steve Banks and Jason Brown and I'll be competing with them.

"When my contract expires I'll be 35 and coaching is something I've always wanted to do. It's nothing immediate. It's something I've thought about for a long time and I'd like to be able to do that.

"I've not got any qualifications as yet, but hopefully when I'm down I'll have a look into it and try and get some qualifications to get my goalkeeping certificates."

Bullock arrived at Priestfield after a largely successful season at Dundee United, which saw the club qualify for the UEFA Cup and reach the Scottish Cup final.

"My last game was in the Scottish Cup final up there - it was a fantastic occasion," Bullock said.

"It was a 1-0 defeat but it was a good way to finish my career there. I had four years in Scotland in total and it was absolutely fabulous."

Bullock's decision to leave the SPL and European football behind surprised many, but the 33-year-old had no hesitation about the move.

"I always wanted to come back to the English league," he said.

"When I joined Ross County from English football people thought it was a backward step, but it turned out to be the best move of my career, and it got me into the SPL.

"The English League is totally different and it's quite hard to compare. Sometimes in Scotland you can end up playing a team seven times in one season and it can get quite monotonous."

Looking ahead ot his new challenge, he added: "It's going to be a tough league, there are some good teams in there. But hopefully we'll have a good enough squad and we can go up and push them."