Strikers saw some ‘industrial action' at East Lancashire plastics giant What More UK… together with defenders, midfielders and even the odd goalie.

TV cameras from Sky Sports were at the company's huge Altham factory and distribution centre to film a ‘job swap' day involving players from Accrington Stanley FC and What More UK staff.

The business, which has more than 700 household products under the trusted ‘Wham' brand, is the official sponsor of Accrington Stanley's nearby ‘Wham Stadium'. Earlier this year What More UK founder and managing director Andy Holt also became the majority shareholder in Accrington Stanley in a deal which saw him clear around £1.2M of the club's debt and invest heavily in building its future.

That exciting new era off the pitch has been mirrored by a fantastic season on it, with high-flying Stanley pushing for promotion from League Two. But in an extraordinary away fixture, its players swapped the pitch for the factory floor to get a taste of life at What More.

Meanwhile, a squad of What More staff, the ‘Wham Wanderers', got a taste of professional football, enjoying a coaching session with Accrington Stanley manager John Coleman.

What More director Tony Grimshaw said: "After a health and safety briefing ─ our equivalent of a warm-up ─ the players had a go at various jobs in different parts of our 500,000sq.ft factory and warehouse, big enough to swallow up six-and-a-half full-size football pitches.

"They were keen lads and took a real interest in how our products are manufactured, stored in our warehouses and picked and loaded for distribution to our customers all over the world. I think they were a surprised at the scale of our operation, which goes on around the clock 365 days-a-year."

Meanwhile at the Wham Stadium the Reds' ‘gaffer' John Coleman was similarly impressed with the enthusiasm of his new recruits, if not their ball skills!

"Obviously they were a million miles away from the standard of our players, but football is all about enjoyment and they all certainly seemed to enjoy their day. We were able to give them a few basic skills to improve their game and we enjoyed having them here."

Footage from the job swap is due to be screened on the Sky Sports TV channel, but for now it is back to the serious business of winning promotion to League One for the Accrington Stanley squad.

And as for the Wham Wanderers and their dreams of Wembley glory… don't give up the day job just yet.