Stanley chief John Coleman has been encouraged by the start to pre-season ahead of tomorrow’s opening friendly with Huddersfield Town.

For the third successive year, Stanley will host the Terriers at the Wham Stadium in their first official run out of the close season.

Stanley head to Hyde on Tuesday before home games against Middlesbrough and Blackburn Rovers complete the pre-season games. And after some fitness work in the warm temperatures, Coleman is looking forward to getting back to action.

He said: “I think everyone is feeling the heat, literally, and it hampers what you can do. It saps the players’ energy, so you have to be mindful that you don’t overwork them.

“But we still believe in doing a pre-season that players don’t like, but they appreciate the fact they have done it at the end of it.

“I think if you get a good pre-season under your belt then it sets you up for the season and it means you can focus on more things other than fitness throughout the season.

“We always finish the season strong so we must be doing something right and hopefully that can continue.

“We had a bit of a run-out behind closed doors against Liverpool Under-23s which was encouraging.

“There were some good signs and I’m pleased to keep the bulk of the squad together.”

David Wagner’s side are preparing for their second successive top flight campaign. They ran out 1-0 winners in a tight match last year, having won 4-1 12 months earlier.

On what he’s expecting this time around, Coleman added: “The season before last they wiped the floor with us but last year we gave them a good game and we were very good.

“Hopefully we can keep improving.

“We have an Accrington XI going to (North West Counties side) Shelley so players will be getting a run out so there will be a chance to get a lot of minutes under players’ belt.

“I think it’s important you have games that test you.

“Certainly the games we have lined up will do just that.”