into the 2001–02 season, making 17 appearances that season. Another season at Southend followed, during which he made 42 appearances, before leaving the club at the end of the 2002–03 season. He returned to Kingstonian for the following season, with the club playing in the Isthmian League Premier Division, scoring six times in 40 league games. At the end of the season, he travelled to Spain to set up a youth academy at Marbella based club U.D San Pedro in the Spanish Third Division, and ended up as part of the playing squad during his time there. Stevenage Borough After a two-year spell both playing and coaching in Spain, Beard signed for Stevenage Borough of the Conference National on 11 September 2006. The move came about after Beard asked his brother, Matt Beard, to call a number of a managers in England. Stevenage manager Mark Stimson stated he was in need of "adding some grit into midfield", and subsequently offered Beard a one-week trial period to prove his fitness. Beard had previously played alongside Stimson at Southend. Beard agreed to play for nothing at the beginning of his time at Stevenage, making his debut in a 6–0 home victory over Stafford Rangers on 9 September 2006, coming on as a 73rd-minute substitute in the club's first win of the season. He scored his first goal in a 1–0 victory against Weymouth at Broadhall Way on 19 September 2006. Beard played regularly during the campaign, making 49 appearances in all competitions, scoring three goals. This appearance tally included eight appearances in the FA Trophy, with Beard playing every minute as Stevenage became the first team to win a competitive cup final at the new Wembley Stadium, beating Kidderminster Harriers 3–2 in-front of a competition record crowd of 53,262. He was released at the end of the season; Beard stated he was "gutted to leave", with Stimson wanting to bring in John Martin as his replacement. Later career Following his release from Stevenage, Beard joined Conference South club St Albans City in a player-assistant manager role on 20 June 2007. He was assistant to Ritchie Hanlon, who stated – "Mark has all the relevant coaching badges and I'm looking forward to working with him as he is someone I trust. He will bring experience to the team and is someone the other players can look up to". Hanlon was sacked just ten