Justin Edinburgh believes that new transfer rules are going to hit teams like Gillingham hard.

The window for permanent transfers closes today at 11pm, but teams in the lower divisions are currently allowed to make emergency loan signings from the following week until towards the end of March.

That option is set to be a thing of the past, with the EU putting pressure on the footballing authorities to close the additional window.

The closing of the emergency loan window has already been pushed back twice by FIFA, but Gills boss Edinburgh is preparing for the inevitable.

He has been working with a squad of around 18 senior players this season, something many lower league teams do, bringing in loan players to cover for injuries and suspensions when needed.

Without that fall-back plan, teams on smaller budgets like Gillingham will have to either carry bigger and more expensive squads or take a gamble that they have no major selection issues from the end of January.

Edinburgh said: “I am led to believe it wouldn’t be extended any further.

“I think it is very tough on the lower leagues. It is difficult to go and get a squad. We are running off 18 and you don’t want to have more than that. You don’t want to overload and waste money.

“It is all right for the top teams, with big money, they can do their business in the two windows and carry big squads.”

Edinburgh said it would be “impossible” for a team like the Gills to carry a squad of 30.

“How can we?” he said.

“It is going to be difficult and a lot, lot more difficult next year to be able to manage your squads correctly.”

Edinburgh will, however, have that luxury this season, meaning the loan deadline on Monday isn’t the be all and end all.

He will need to tie up a new deal for striker Dominic Samuel before the 11pm deadline, but others could wait.

The Gills boss said: “The importance for us is that Bradley (Dack) stays and in terms of bringing people in we have always got that safety net of being able to do emergency loans.

“We are not like a Premier League side, where we have to do something by February 1 or it will be over for us.”