Manager Steve Evans has confirmed his transfer wishlist to Gillingham chairman Paul Scally.

The two met following the match against Rochdale to formalise their plans now that the window for loans and permanent transfers is back open.

Evans has guided the Gills up to 11th in League 1 - just three points off the play-offs - and hopes a few new faces will give them the opportunity to progress further.

There were four key targets for Evans but he’ll be happy to see just a few new men arrive to bolster his squad.

“I had a brilliant meeting with the chairman,” Evans said.

“It’s about tying to strengthen the group. He is trying desperately to do his bit and the boys are doing their bit as well so I have to be careful who I bring in because we also have some good players on the bench who are not getting on the pitch.

“I didn’t write him a list, I just told him verbally. He said how many are there and I said four. If we get two or three in then we have done really well.”

Evans understands the limitation with Gills’ budget.

“It is important the chairman continues to run the club in a way he does,” he said.

“It is massively important we never get in trouble. We don’t want a Bolton. I could cry for what happened there and look at Bury, we can never have that here.”

The Gills are in form and gradually moving up the League 1 table. On Sunday they host Premier League West Ham in the third round of the FA Cup.

Evans said: “We didn’t start great but we said judge us on January 1.

“We are three points off the play-offs. We left two points at Portman Road (away to Ipswich) and Wimbledon was the most one-sided game I have had in decade that I have had nothing from, we would be sitting in them.

“The boys have been terrific.”

Heading into 2020, Evans believes they have a chance to achieve something this season.

“It’s an opportunity to build something” he said.

“We know how tough it is going to be. You look at the big clubs in this league and you look at what they can do. We are not in the same market as what they can do (financially).

“We will look to find one or two gems for our supporters that we believe will add some quality to the squad. We have to believe that if people are coming in they are going to play a big part, otherwise what is the point of the coming in?”

Evans is prepared for offers to come in for his players, with the likes of Connor Ogilvie, Jack Tucker and Brandon Hanlan attracting interest.

But nobody will be going on the cheap, the manager insists.

He said: “The chairman has assured me that unless it meets a value that is at the top end of where we should be then they will be here and we will selectively try and add to the group.

“We need to add to it, we have had predominantly 15-16 players doing it for us out of a squad of 18-19. We need one or two little bits of quality just to help the boys.”