Steve Evans says he was pleased with the performance of his players against Welling, but will not be rushed to add to the group.
Steve Evans said he was “very pleased” with the performance of his new signings after a high-scoring friendly draw with Welling United on Saturday. Gillingham put out a different team in each half, utilising first-team members, including all six new signings, as well as a handful of youth players.
Danny Lloyd, Vadaine Oliver and John Akinde got the goals for the Gills in the exciting 3-3 thriller with the Wings, who are managed by former Gills striker, and manager, Steve Lovell, with Akinde’s coming in the last minute of the match.
Evans said after the game: “We are happy with certain aspects and not so happy with others. We started and finished the first half really well but we got a bit sloppy in the full-back areas and central midfield.
“We are light at the moment, we know that, but we are not going to make signings for the sake of it. We are going to get players who can help the group. Chapman was commanding in goal, no issues. Out of all of the new signings Danny Lloyd was probably the bright spark. He’s a goal-scorer and a very good player. He gives everything and our supporters are going to love this kid.
“Ben Reeves had a wonderful pass in the last minute to pick out Akinde for the late equaliser. We can see how David Tutonda will play, when he gets a bit sharper and understands how we play some more.”
Evans admits that there is little room for error when it comes to recruitment and he will need all of his experience to carefully select which players he will add to the group.
He said: “We have tried to be busy all summer. What we have tried to do is get value for money. We have lost out on some, which has been well documented. We have lost out on some because people have come out with their cheque books. If they do that and offer 70-80 or £100,000 more than what we offer then we know what is going to happen.
“There are other good players still in the market, others looking for the right club and we have to do our business properly in the next four weeks. As I said last year, if we don’t get our recruitment right, you suffer for the season, but with our recruitment so far, I have not been disappointed with one player.”