OUR HEARTS, MINDS & SOULS CAN MAKE UP FOR LACK OF REVENUE!

HE’S too experienced to say it, but you get the feeling that Accrington Stanley’s impressive midweek win at AFC Wimbledon meant just that little bit more to John Coleman than usual.

- John Lyons

Stanley had been in the spotlight following chairman Andy Holt’s explosive comments on X, formerly Twitter, in which he announced that he was putting the club up for sale and said that he was ‘spent’.

It appears that the straw that broke the camel’s back was comments in a radio interview from assistant manager Jimmy Bell, who said that he and long-serving boss Coleman wanted clarity over their futures.

On X, Holt responded: “When we got relegated last season the first thing our managers said was ‘give us a new contract or sack us’. There was no way their performance deserved anything but the sack. But their past with the club got them a ‘get out of jail free card’.

“Had they buckled down and proved they still had the hunger and desire to rebuild the club, I would discuss new contracts. Instead, after a few wins, they went to the media. They tried to use fans to pressure me - which was a mistake.”

From a club which has won admirers for the way it has conducted itself on and off the pitch over recent years, it was a particularly surprising development. But it perhaps goes some way to show the stresses and strains of trying to keep a lower league outfit competitive against clubs with bigger fanbases and resources.

In any event, it put a spotlight on Coleman, Bell and the players ahead of their trip to Plough Lane. On the back of three straight wins, Stanley came into it with confidence flowing – and that showed as they raced into a two-goal lead in nine minutes courtesy of skipper Joe Pritchard and a Tommy Leigh stunner.