Head coach Ady Pennock will be Gillingham’s long-term manager – if he can do the business this season.

That’s the view of chairman Paul Scally, who has given Pennock and his coaching team until the end of the campaign to show they are worthy of a longer deal.

The play-offs remain a long shot and after picking up the reins with the Gills sitting 17th, a top-half finish may well be seen as an achievement.

Pennock’s first game ended in a 1-0 defeat at Oldham and Gills head to League 1 leaders Sheffield United on Saturday. The visit of AFC Wimbledon on Tuesday will be Pennock’s first in charge at Priestfield.

Mr Scally said: “Sometimes you give people too long a contract and they don’t focus on the present. I didn’t have the time or energy to get into long negotiations on long-term contracts.

"My phone was ringing 15 minutes after I sacked Justin (Edinburgh) with managers telling me they were the one. I didn’t want to get sucked into that long process of interviewing lots of managers.

“This is a quick fix. It’s a good fix. It won’t be a cheap fix but it never was going to be. It is a fix that is quite adequate and will do well this season. I have given them my word that if we do well this season, then I won’t go looking for managers in the summer.”

Read the full story in Friday's Medway Messenger