Hessenthaler was brought back to Priestfield in the summer

Gillingham manager Andy Hessenthaler believes his side are now capable of automatic promotion this season.

The Gills' 0-0 draw at promotion rivals Shrewsbury extended their unbeaten run to seven games and leaves them five points adrift of third in League Two.

Hessenthaler told BBC Radio Kent: "We do believe. We're five points off of third, so of course it's possible.

"For us to achieve that we need to go on a run of five wins on the bounce, like we did earlier in the season."

He added: "We are capable of doing that. We've proved that we can go on a run of winning games, but we're on a run of drawing games at the moment."

Hessenthaler's side have drawn five of their last seven games.

But the Gillingham boss is delighted that they managed to remain unbeaten in February, during which time they have played a number of the sides around them.

"Overall we're pleased as we haven't been beaten," he said.

"We've seen the games we've got and there's a big belief we can now turn the draws into wins.

"If we can have a run then we'll be right in there.

"We would have been if we could have got a couple more wins this month, but we're still in a good position and there's still a long way to go."

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