Neil Harris facing a busy transfer window as he looks for up to 15 new players at Gillingham

Gillingham boss Neil Harris admits this summer’s transfer window will be the toughest he’s faced - with up to 15 new signings required.

The club are heading to League 2 next season and Harris has a rebuild job to do with only seven players on contract, some of whom the manager doesn’t see as being part of his plans.

Of those four who have been offered contracts, Harris has also admitted the two senior players Jack Tucker and Robbie McKenzie may well be lured elsewhere.

Commenting this week, days after the club’s retained list was announced, Harris said: “It is going to be the toughest (transfer) window I have ever had in my management career so far because of the short amount of time we have got to build a (recruitment) department and knowing the levels and the amount of players we need to recruit.

“I want a squad of 20, which leaves a bit of space for the likes of Josh Chambers and Bailey Akehurst, plus a couple of the other younger lads like Joe Gbode, Sam Gale, people like that, Alex Giles, a chance to look at them in pre-season onwards.

“But 20 senior players is the target, we have seven under contract, it leaves 13 spaces, will all seven be here? Possibly, possibly not, we may need 14-15, which is not abnormal in the lower leagues but certainly not the way I like to do business. I like to build a culture where you build over a period of time.

“We have to find 15 players and as great as it is to bring (head of recruitment) Nicky Shorey in, with so many players out of contract, it is a massive task and certainly the biggest task I have faced in seven years of being a manager.

Three players on Neil Harris’ released list that he would loved to have kept at #gills - but one he hasn’t given up onhttps://t.co/x4Njf6Fmvr

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