Gillingham manager Gareth Ainsworth comments on a busy end to the transfer window as the club complete deals for Zech Obiero and Eli King on deadline day

Gareth Ainsworth knows he has to make things work after completing the biggest transfer window of his managerial career at Gillingham.

The Gills added two more players before the window closed, completing a permanent deal for Cardiff City midfielder Eli King and bringing in Zech Obiero on a season-long loan from Leyton Orient.

That took Gillingham’s summer recruitment to 15 new signings, leaving Ainsworth with a vastly different squad to the one that finished last season.

The Gills were also in action on deadline day, drawing 1-1 at Chesterfield as their recruitment team worked behind the scenes to get the final deals over the line.

Ainsworth said: “It’s over to me now because I've got a squad that I wanted and I've got to make it work.”

Chairman Brad Galinson made a similar point in a message to supporters on Tuesday night after the window closed.

He wrote on social media: “Proud of our recruitment business and our organisation. Now, we have to make it all work.

“This is a long season. Many parts. I think we have the ingredients to make Gillingham proud.”

King was a deal that came together late in the window, with the 23-year-old joining permanently rather than on loan.

Ainsworth said: “I knew where we were at the start of the game. Both [deals were] still up in the air, Eli and Zech.

“Zech was on the bench for Leyton Orient. There's no way we could have got his signature before the kick-off.

“It was important for me to compartmentalise it in my head and go, ‘Right, that's there. This is the game now. Get on with the game’.

“I'm glad we did because I think that'll be an important point come the end of the season.

“Being totally honest, Eli was put to me the day before deadline day and I didn't think there would be any