Stimson seals Maher deal

Maher: Finally a Gills player

Gillingham boss Mark Stimson has ended his lengthy pursuit of Kevin Maher by securing the midfielder on a two-year contract.

Maher finished the 2007/08 season on loan at Gillingham from Southend United before opting to join Oldham Athletic last summer.

The 32-year-old's decision to reject a permanent move to the Gills last summer was due to his desire to stay in League One and Stimson is now happy to have got his man.

"I've been after Kevin for a while," Stimson told the club's official website. "We missed out on him last season because he opted to move to Oldham, but I respected his desire to keep playing at that level.

"He will be a fantastic signing for us. I've often talked about the need to add that bit of experience to the team and that's exactly what Kevin will bring to the side."

Maher was released by Oldham at the end of last season and admits Stimson was the main factor in his decision to return to Priestfield.

"It's the manager mainly," said Maher. "He's shown a lot of faith in me which is a massive boost. I know him well and I know the way he likes the team to play.

"It's going to be a good league this season, but Gillingham have a lot of good players on their books and I know the gaffer is looking to add a few more.

"We're a young side, but there's no reason why we can't do well."