James became a coach at Bradford City before succeeding Gary Simpson as manager of Gainsborough Trinity in October 1993. He was the manager at Morecambe but was sacked after only 5 months in charge. In October 1995 he was appointed manager of Southern League Premier Division side Ilkeston Town. After winning his first three matches in charge, the team then went 20 games without a victory and James left the club in February 1996 to be replaced by Keith Alexander. On 29 September 1997, James took over from Tony Greenwood as manager of Accrington Stanley. He spent five months in charge at the Crown Ground before resigning in February 1998 due to other work commitments.