By Jack Nolan
October 17 2007

Gillingham chairman Paul Scally has appointed Mark Stimson as manager, over a month after Ronnie Jepson's departure. Stimson resigned from his post as manager at Stevenage Borough on Wednesday, paving the way for his move to the krbs Priestfield Stadium.

When Ronnie Jepson resigned as manager of Gillingham, few would have tipped Stimson to get the job. Especially when chairman Paul Scally promised a big name appointment and ruled out any up and coming managers, but today up and coming manager Mark Stimson was unvieled as Gillingham manager.

Stimson had a playing career with ten different clubs, one of those being Gillingham in which he spent a short spell from Tottenham Hotspur in the latre 80's.

He started his managerial career with Grays Athletic, where he steered them to Conference South safety, then to a shock promotion, where his attacking style of football saw them score 118 goals that season. He also won The FA Trophy with Grays Athletic in his final season.

He then made the move to Stevenage Borough where after a slow start, his attacking and free flowing tactics steered them to FA Trophy glory at Wembley Stadium. His side were on course for the play-offs but a poor finish saw them finish in 8th place.

 In a bid to hold onto their man, Stevenage offered Stimson a new contract, however just the next day, it was revealed he had resigned.

 Stimson's first game as Gillingham manager is a tough trip to Carlisle, where in this fixture last season, Gills were thrashed by five goals to nil, and wit The Gills yet to even earn a single point on their travels, Stimson will be wanting to install some confidence early on to get The Gills' season back on track.

There is bound to be more to come of this as Stevenage have threatened legal action if Stimson was appointed Gills boss. Meanwhile former Gillingham manager Peter Taylor has been installed as Stimson's replacement at Stevenage..

Stimson has signed a three year deal with The Gills and his first game is tomorrows trip to Swansea City.

 

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Reaction to Stimson's appointment to follow...