Gillingham plan to pull out of the Final Third Development League next season.

The Gills only have a small first team squad and have often relied on youth players to fulfil fixtures in the Football League’s reserve set-up this season.

It has often led to meaningless games, none more so than the 8-0 defeat to Southend, when a youthful Gillingham team faced a vastly experienced opposition side.

Gills boss Justin Edinburgh feels they are better able to manage the players on the fringes of the first team by arranging their own matches or utilising the loan market.

Edinburgh said: “With the size of the squad we have, I just don’t feel there is a necessity for it at the moment.

“We have not got the biggest first team squad and anyone who is doing well in the youth team or an early pro will train with us. If we feel they are not breaking into the first team, they can go on loan and play.

“Every week, we get asked if we want to participate in a friendly and I feel that sometimes you get caught in having a development group for the sake of it and there is no real progression for the players.

“We are going to finish that next season and just run with the first team and the youth.”