leadership, Lincoln lost only three of the last 18 games that season and finished comfortably in mid-table, avoiding a second relegation to the Conference. He resigned in May 1993, with one game of the season remaining, after the Lincoln board had decided not to renew his contract. After leaving Sincil Bank he then joined Kevin Keegan's coaching staff at Newcastle United before spending three months as assistant manager at Doncaster Rovers. From there he became Director of Football at Southend United, taking over as manager when Peter Taylor left with the club deep in relegation trouble. Thompson led them to 13th place at the end of the season and despite agreeing to stay at the club, left to join Colin Murphy as assistant manager at Notts County in June 1995 without having signed a contract. County made the play-offs in their first season in charge, but struggled badly the following year in a season that would see the Magpies relegated to Division Three. Both Murphy and Thompson were sacked before the season finished. Thompson then joined Nigel Spackman's coaching staff at Sheffield United. However Spackman resigned in March 1998 and Thompson was made acting-manager. He guided the blades to the play-offs and the semi-finals of the FA Cup, but was replaced on 2 July 1998 by Steve Bruce. In late December 2004 Thompson was appointed as manager of struggling League Two side Cambridge United, but was made redundant the following summer having failed to prevent Cambridge's relegation to the Conference. He then worked for BBC Radio Lincolnshire. On 12 June 2006 he was appointed manager of Notts County on a three-year deal which was extended by one year in May 2007, the appointment was an unpopular decision among many County fans because of his association with the Colin Murphy era. In spite of this, County initially showed signs of improving substantially in their first season under the new order, but struggled to maintain a consistent run of good form as the season drew to a close. Thompson was sacked at the start of the 2007–08 season after a poor start that saw the Magpies languishing near the bottom of the table. Since leaving Notts County Thompson is yet to make a return in football within any capacity, however in the Summer of 2009, he went public with his interest for the Port Vale job – which later went to Micky