Gillingham Manager Mark Stimson admits relegation is the lowest point of his managerial career as the Gills lose 2-1 to Leeds United at Elland Road.

The Gills, who took the lead through a Simeon Jackson goal but former Gills transfer target Bradley Johnson equalised and strike Tresor Kandol scored a late winner, gave their all and Stimson was proud of his players: "The performance was like we have been in the last five or six weeks; very good.  We took a deserved lead against a very good side, in a fantastic atmosphere, but unfortunately we couldn't hold onto that lead and we got pipped at the end.  I think the word that I would use to sum up my time at the club is "frustrating" as we have been so close.  In football, it is about a season and the 46 games in this league.  You have to perform over those games.  In the last ten or so games, we have put in some good performances, just like at Leeds, and we haven't come out of those games with as many points as we have deserved.

"You want a good start and then have somebody sat next to you with their phone telling you the results.  Once we got our goal, we forgot about all the other teams.  Somebody said at half-time that Cheltenham were winning and that made me feel a bit low.  I don't show that to the players and just said to them let's go out there and keep performing for the whole 90 minutes.  Unfortunately we didn't.  If we had won, we still wouldn't have been safe.

"I thought "Jacko" looked a very good player out there against Leeds.  His movement as well as what he did with the ball was very good.  I thought Mark Bentley went into the back three, as Garry Richards had a knee injury, and I thought he was outstanding.  Simon King played like he has all season; he was superb.  Young Stuart Lewis put another good performance into the midfield.  There are some positives and once I sit down with a clear head, I'll get some things ironed out and we can move forward, which is what we have got to do as a club."

The result sees the Gills relegated to Coca-Cola League Two and Stimson explains he has meetings with every player on Tuesday to determine the squad that will attack the fourth tier next season: "If we can keep the nucleus of this squad, then we'll have a fantastic chance next season.  I had a quick de-brief with the players after the game and I have a meeting with each player on Tuesday.  I said to them that what Scott and I ask for most of all in a player is honesty and a commitment to get the job done.  In those meetings on Tuesday, I will be asking each player "Do you want to be a part of getting Gillingham Football Club back into League One?".  If they cannot answer that but they have a representative who can, I have told them they can bring somebody in with them.  All I need to know on Tuesday when I leave Priestfield after speaking to all the players is that they are with my thoughts; that is 100 per cent commitment.  That means a very hard training regime, which I know they are all capable of but I know some might not fancy it.  If they don't, let's be honest with each other because without honesty, I don't think we are going to go anywhere.  I think if I had my time again at the club with players who were here and the players coming in, I think we lost that bit of honesty with some players.

"How do I react to it?  The whole of Saturday will be terrible but when I get up on Sunday, I'll look forward.  I said to the players, stand up, be strong and don't lose any belief as I don't think we are far off it.  For me, personally, it is now about going and trying to find that missing piece of the jigsaw, somebody who can help us get 15 to 20 goals and play alongside Simeon Jackson, Dennis Oli or Gary Mulligan.  If we can get that, it will be enough to compete in League Two.

"I said to the players to go to a place like Elland Road in front of 38,000 fans is easy but who wants to go to Accrington Stanley and Morecambe, and roll their sleeves up and play the football that we want to play on a surface that might be more difficult than some we have played on this season?  Those are the questions we want answering and they need to be answered on Tuesday.  That is where we have got to go and we cannot get away from that.  If they are all on the train as I call it then there won't be a massive problem.  We'll get through it and I am sure that times will be better on our away trips as well as when we are playing at home.

"Out of the starting 16 against Leeds, I would like to keep about 14 of them.  I think Kevin Maher is a talented player, but he is only on-loan and I don't think we'll be able to persuade him to come and join us as I think there are a couple of League One clubs after him.  As a player, you want to try and play at the highest level possible.  Georges Ba will not be kept next season and possibly Leroy Griffiths as well.  Derek Stillie will also probably leave us.  Everyone else, I would like to keep here next season and work with them.  We'll add one or two players and with some younger players coming through, as we've got a couple of good young boys, that will improve the squad and we can attack League Two.

"People may come in for one or two of our players and we will have to deal with that.  It is all about the players.  If anyone believes they can play at a higher level and they don't want to be at Gillingham Football Club, we'll sit down and decide what is best.  We need people next season more so than ever that want to play for Gillingham in League Two.  In that division, you have got to be mentally tuned in for every single game.  There aren't as many Leeds Uniteds or Nottingham Forests with those big glamorous grounds and everything is nice and rosy.  You have to go to some grounds where you have got to dig deep.  If any player in our group attracts other clubs, and the deal is right for this club and the player no longer wants to be at Gillingham, then it might be in the best interests of both parties if the player maybe departs.

"Things should be cleared up on Tuesday with Simon Royce and he'll commit himself to the club for another season.  We spoke weeks ago but with the Chairman having other things going on, and in football you have got to concentrate on the next game, some things have to be put into the background.  "Roycey" understands that and now that the season has finished, we want him to stay and he wants to stay.  Danny Cullip will also hopefully be signed on Tuesday.  There should hopefully be some positive news coming out of the club next week.

"This time next year, I'd love to be sat at Priestfield with the stadium full of people clapping our team.  The only way to get that is with honesty and hard work.  Nobody is going to give us anything.  If the players are like Scott, our Fitness Coach Danny Ellis and I, they will roll their sleeves up and we will get on with it to have a much more enjoyable season than what we had this year."

Stimson and Gills Chairman Paul Scally have already discussed the budget for next season and Stimson hopes to build a team that can return to League One: "I had a very positive meeting with the Chairman on Wednesday and that spiralled over into Thursday too.  The budget side of things at the moment is good and we are both thinking along the same lines.  The hardest bit will probably be trying to manoeuvre players, who we don't think will figure for us, who are on contacts to help release money so we can improve the squad.  That is something we will have to work together on in the next few weeks and hopefully some other clubs might be interested in taking one or two of our players.

"The Chairman was down in the changing room after the game and he shook all the players hands and told them he was proud of them as the performance was very good.  Although we didn't get the result we wanted, he still felt proud and he said if we can keep most of the players then there is no reason why we cannot attack League Two on the front foot and have a go.

"The Chairman and I said at the beginning that we are both, what I would call, real men.  We are honest with each other, look each other in the eyes and say how we feel.  He has told me he is encouraged and he likes the way we play football.  He obviously doesn't like some of the results and I feel exactly the same.  I know it is a results business and I am as desperate as he is to make this club good again.  He is quietly confident that I am able to do that and that is what I aim to do; deliver the goods on the pitch so he can enjoy himself with the supporters and get us back into League One."



Since he arrived at the KRBS Priestfield Stadium, Stimson has been impressed with the fans and he paid tribute to the Gills support: "I have always said that the supporters are not stupid and they have got their right to their opinions as they pay to get into the ground.  People who have seen us in the past few weeks, they will have said the same as what Scott Barrett and I have said "why are we conceding goals when we go into a lead and why can't we go on and score a second goal to give us a bit of a cushion?".  I think that is down to maybe needing another striker and a bit more of a physical presence up the top to take some of the work load off the other striker, in recent weeks, that has been Simeon Jackson.  That is an area that we will try and improve on in the summer.

"A special thank you goes to the fans.  They haven't enjoyed too many away trips since I have been here but they turn out in their numbers and they are very vocal.  At Elland Road, things we no different and they are a credit to the football club.  You can never guarantee anything in football but what I will say is that we will definitely have better times on our travels.  The fans will see a side play with the commitment like this team has in the last 12 games since we got this new-looking squad together.  If we do that, at the level we are going to be, I am sure we'll enjoy the good times together."

The players return for pre-season training on 1st June with twice a week sessions before returning to full training on 1st July and Stimson admits he cannot wait to get back onto the training ground: "It is one of those where you are wishing your life away and I have seemed to do this all week.  I couldn't wait to go to Leeds and be involved with their big stadium, the good atmosphere and a game in which we could survive.  We didn't do that.  Now I have to wait until 1st June when we officially go back.  Knowing some of the players as I do, I am pretty sure I will be somewhere on Thursday with a group of players doing an activity.  There were players in the changing room who hurt a lot and they won't want anything like this to happen again next year, just like me.  There will be six or seven players in some field on Thursday and they will be doing some running sessions.

"We cannot wait for the fixtures to come out and we can start planning.  We'll be looking to see who we get a Christmas, Easter and when all the local games are.  In the meantime, I'll be working with some players who want to work on their weakness and become stronger and better.  That will only make them better players for Gillingham Football Club."