Gillingham boss Steve Evans has added his weight to the growing calls for authorities – both footballing and governmental – to help fill the ever growing void of playing without crowds.

With the clammer growing into a roar this week following Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s comments that it could take another six months for crowds to be allowed back into League grounds, Evans has had his say.

A hugely frustrated Evans told his briefing this week, “My personal view is that it’s absolutely shameful that the Premier League haven’t stepped in with some measure of help – they’ve sat away from us and ignored us!”

“I think it’s quite shameful really! On the other side of the coin, they’re not getting crowds themselves but they’ve got media revenue that is still allowing them to buy players for sixty, seventy, eighty million, and contribute largely to players on £600,000 a week – you see the levels that one or two get and some in the Championship, believe me, we that might not see 2021.”

Evans was then asked about the future for the Gills – he said, “our Chairman has never hidden the fact that he can only take this so far on his own. We don’t have a rich cash benefactor sitting in some foreign land who says “I can ship some money across there!” because it’s a hobby!”

“This isn’t a hobby to Paul Scally – this has been his business for twenty five years and whatever anyone says from a distance and in the game, he’s done it with great pride – he’s the longest serving Chairman, the club’s never been in financial debt since he walked in; there’s no debt in the stadium; it’s actually a brilliantly run football club that doesn’t overspend and in these times, we simply cannot overspend.”

“So, if there is any flexibility with me and the Chairman, I have to be able to convince clubs who have a bit more flexibility in terms of wealth just to help us a little bit!”

“What we’ve got to do in terms of the Football League is to get our own house in order. We’ve got Rick Parry, who’s vastly experienced – I like Rick he’s a real good guy, he’s a positive guy but everywhere in the country, I’m speaking to managers and players who are just terrified about their jobs!”

“That’s the reality of the matter – and I’m fed up with reading what he’s going to do – I’m only a “mere” manager, I’m not an owner, but Rick just do it! Stop talking and just produce a package for the clubs as clubs are bleeding.”

“I think it’s time to… you can do something about it – what’s the opposite to that? Rick Parry should ask that question – he can do something about this; what’s the opposite? You do nothing!”

“We’re not asking for silly handouts and there could be restrictions on what you do with that money in terms of how you pay people and not buying people and things like that.”

“But when you see people might go in the Premier League for the levels that they’re going at, you just wonder about the state of the game below that level.”

Reflecting on the current position, the Gills boss asked, “It is no surprise that this has happened now is it? Everyone knew that there was a second wave coming and when you listen to the best medical minds that we’ve got in this country – and I listen to them intently when they speak and I value their opinions, of course I do as they’re the best medical brains that we’ve got!”

“But when they said back in June and July that there’s a second wave coming October to Christmas and we need to be ready, there could have been concerns, and there should have been concerns and alarm bells ringing that we’re not going to have crowds, and there should have been people saying how we’re going to help our football clubs get through this pandemic – I’m just wondering where that level of thought has been!”

Paying tribute to the “missing” Gills faithful, the manager told us, “we have one of those grounds where The Rainham End is famous – it doesn’t matter who you are in League One, whether you’re the giant or whether you’re a small club in League One, when you come to play at Priestfield, and I’ve been on the opposite end of that, and you go up against The Rainham End and they’re in full voice – especially late in matches…”

“Of course, we lose that, but in the same token we went to Wigan last week – there was no crowd roaring them on in the last five minutes when they were chasing goals. It does level itself out around all the football clubs in League One and League Two and as now we can see there’s not going to be a crowd for some time.”