ACCRINGTON Stanley are confident that they will meet a December 31 deadline to bring the Crown Ground up to 5,000 capacity and finally meet Football League requirements.

All Football League grounds must have a minimum capacity of 5,000, including 2,000 seats, but Stanley have had a period of special dispensation extended on several occasions since their promotion in 2006.

The Reds installed the seats required in the summer of 2009 but have had a capacity of just over 4,000 since then and have been warned that they must have capacity up to 5,000 by the end of the year – with the Football League within their rights to kick Stanley out of League Two in the summer if they do not comply.

Chief executive Rob Heys insists the club are on track to have work completed by December 31, though, with a new control room due to be installed in the next few weeks and extra terracing then set to be added to both sides of the Coppice Terrace.

“I don’t think this deadline is movable and the Football League have been good with us so we want to do it out of respect for them,” he said.

“We are on target to get the capacity up to 5,000 for the December 31 deadline, and hopefully that will be just in time for an FA Cup third round tie.”

Stanley target Kieran Charnock was recalled to the Torquay line-up for their FA Cup win at Mansfield on Saturday after the injury-hit Gulls opted not to sell him.

Morecambe had been favourites to sign the former Reds loan defender but Accrington are also interested.