Paul Scally considered sticking with Gillingham’s gang of four before appointing Justin Edinburgh.

The chairman paid tribute to Gills’ caretaker management team for their efforts over eight games following Peter Taylor’s dismissal.

Andy Hessenthaler and Steve Lovell are part of new boss Edinburgh’s staff, while Darren Hare and Mark Patterson return to their previous roles.

Mr Scally, who sacked Taylor on New Year’s Eve, said: “In days gone by, we’ve probably made appointments quite quickly.

“I felt this time, because I had great confidence in the management team and the fact the players enjoyed the type of football the gang of four tried to play, I wasn’t under the same sort of pressure.

“There was even a debate as to whether we should leave things as they were and certainly when we spoke to the players, some of them felt perhaps we could leave it as it was – and I actually believe that as well.

“But ultimately we would need to get a manager. I didn’t want to go through this process at the end of the season when we already knew we had a very good candidate that we felt would fit into the culture of Gillingham Football Club.”

See Monday's Medway Messenger for six pages of Gillingham coverage