January additions are essential says Gillingham boss Steve Evans - regardless of the club's injury situation.

He accepts he may have to move players out to make way for those incoming - he has already said he wants some to leave - but he’s confident that the squad from January onwards will be a lot stronger if he can do some business.

Evans has been keen to meet with the chairman to discuss his options and wants those sooner rather than later. He is also hoping for further clarity over those currently out injured and when they are likely to return.

“The wheels are in motion our end,” he said.

“We need to understand what options are available to us. We need to understand from the medical department rather than trying to guess as a management team and that when someone should be back there are back, that is what happens at most club. We are finding that we get told 'we are not quite sure' but we need to be sure and that is all of us. We need to know what picture we have going into January.

“I will sit with the chairman and see where we are but when we put Christian Maghoma and Henry Woods out on loan that was done to bring two players in, not because we were top heavy with players. Look what we have, we shake out head compared to most, even Fleetwood.

“We have asked the chairman, we have proposed a date, the chairman is a busy man and we don’t put it on him, but we have identified a date. We need our parameters.

“He may say, 'don’t go to work, you have got what you have got', then we all have decisions to make.”

The Gills boss, along with assistant Paul Raynor and their goalkeeper coach Ian Pledger, have all been out watching potential targets in recent weeks.

Evans has some top players sidelined with injury. Asked if their return to fitness was enough for his squad, he said: “No. I don’t think it is. I understand we may have to move people out the group to bring people in but we did that last summer when we brought some in late.

“We have done it everywhere successfully and improved second half (of the season) but they now need to be very good in the second half of the season don’t they? They don’t need to be good, they need to be very good.

“The consolation is that although we have lost five in a row, shocking in some performances, we are one win away from jumping several teams and so we are not alone and we have been depleted and we know what by.

“Some others are depleted by the odd player, nobody has got what we have. Portsmouth got a great win (against Gillingham), they were missing Sean Raggett, a very good player, but that is one player. We were missing 10 that day and eight on Saturday plus a couple who shouldn’t have played.”

Evans confirmed after the game on Saturday that Alex MacDonald’s operation had taken place but any outside hopes of a quicker than expected recovery were dashed. He’s still set to miss the rest of the season.