appointed as the new manager of Gillingham, and quickly moved to sign a number of Stevenage players, including Adam Miller and John Nutter. He was unable to recreate his previous success, however, and at the end of the 2007–08 season Gillingham were relegated from League One. He was also criticised by departing player Aaron Brown, who acknowledged that Stimson had strong coaching skills but described his man-management as "shocking". The following season the Gills finished fifth in League Two and beat Shrewsbury Town 1–0 in the play-off Final at Wembley Stadium to gain promotion, but in the 2009–10 season Gillingham were relegated back to League Two, after which Stimson's contract was terminated "by mutual consent" on 10 May 2010. On 1 June, Stimson was appointed as the new manager of League Two club Barnet, but was sacked seven months later on 1 January 2011 due to a bad string of results which left the club near the bottom of the table. Towards the latter stages of the 2010–11 season, Stimson accepted a coaching role at Dagenham & Redbridge. After a brief spell at Dagenham, he was appointed manager of Conference National club Kettering Town on 7 September 2011. On 4 January 2012, Stimson left Kettering with the team placed in the Conference relegation places. Four months later he was appointed manager of Thurrock following the club's relegation to the Isthmian League. At the age of 49, Stimson was registered as a player again for the 2017–18 season and named himself as a substitute on a number of occasions. On 10 May 2018, after leaving Thurrock as a result of the club folding, Stimson was appointed manager of Waltham Abbey. In November of the same year, however, he resigned in order to take over as manager of AFC Hornchurch. He led the club to the 2021 FA Trophy Final at Wembley Stadium, beating Hereford 3–1. Personal life Stimson is married, and when he returned to former club Grays Athletic as manager of Stevenage Borough in 2007, he and his wife were praised for visiting the clubhouse after the game to chat to home supporters. He has three children, including a son, Charlie, who in 2008 joined Gillingham's youth team, but turned down the offer of a professional contract in 2010 after his father's dismissal from the manager's job. In 2000, Stimson presented his Essex Senior Cup winner's medal to a disabled