Gillingham manager Gareth Ainsworth expects to be competing against some big-budget teams in League 2 next season

Gillingham boss Gareth Ainsworth admits the club are having to rein in their spending this summer in a reversal of recent seasons.

The Gills spent their way out of trouble when the Galinsons took charge midway through the 2022/23 season and the club retained one of League 2’s bigger budgets since then.

That spending hasn’t paid off, with the Gills occupying 12th and 17th spot in the past two campaigns.

Ainsworth’s worked with an inferior budget before, when he started out at Wycombe Wanderers, and is geared up for another challenge as he attempts to make the Gills competitive again.

He said: “There’s going to be some big sides in the league this year. I want to be up there.

“I believe we’re a big club in League 2, but you look at some of the spending power of some of the clubs.

“I won’t name them, but there are rumours going around that some teams are really going for it this year. That just makes my challenge even better when we beat those teams.

“The Galinsons (co-owners Brad and Shannon) have put an enormous amount of money into this club in the last two years. There’s no way we could keep spending like that. It’s just not the right way. It’s not the right structure. It’s not the right baseline to run the club.

“I’m totally respectful that we’ll rein it in a little bit.

“Brad and Shannon love this place. All they want is the best for it. I know that they would back me if I really wanted to get someone in and really went for it, although they also trust me never to abuse that relationship as well.

“I think that’s a really nice place to be because I want to build something here.

“You don’t build by just flash in the pan stuff. You build by structure and belonging and environment. That’s what I want to do.

“I want