TWELVE years after witnessing John Coleman’s arrival at Accrington Stanley following their relegation to the UniBond First Division, Jamie Speare can only marvel at the sides the Reds could be playing next season.

“It’s amazing to think about how far the club have come,” said Stanley’s former keeper.

“We were going to places like Spennymoor and Bishop Auckland, all those bogholes in his first year.

"Next year it could be places like Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday.”

Coleman has already guided Stanley to three promotions during his tenure and a fourth is now firmly in his sights, with the Reds travelling to Stevenage in the first leg of their League Two play-off semi final on Sunday.

But the first promotion, in his first season in charge, will perhaps always be dearest to his heart.

After a difficult first half of the campaign, Stanley were nowhere at the turn of the year but went unbeaten for the rest of the season to remarkably win the league on the final day against Farsley.

Speare – the keeper that season during his initial six-year spell at the club – cannot help but notice the similarities with the current campaign, which has seen Stanley rise from 19th in mid-February to fifth. Less than three months ago the Reds were six places behind Lincoln, who ultimately were relegated.

“It has come full circle for John this season with the run of games they’ve had,” said the 34-year-old, now assistant at Evo-Stik First Division North side Cammell Laird, where he recently made an appearance as a centre-back because of a player shortage.

“The main thing that struck me about him when he arrived was his passion for the game.

"I came across him in my first season at Accrington when we played Ashton United and he managed to grab a goal or two.

"We were still in the Premier Division, although we were performing like a bunch of donkeys.

“It took a bit of time when he got here. We were hit and miss until just after Christmas.

“It was the fact that he brought so many new faces in, but we got it together, though, and went 22 games unbeaten.

"We went into the game against Farsley and I remember getting into the car with Sparky (Mark Ceraolo) and Steve Carragher and we just felt that we weren’t going to lose that day.

“It’s hard to say whether the club would be where they are now if we hadn’t been promoted then.

“But if you look back over the years John’s been there, if he hasn’t finished in a higher spot than the previous season, he’s finished with more points.

“So I fully believe that if we hadn’t gone up that season, it would have only been a matter of time before the promotions would have started to come.

“If it hadn’t been in his first season, it would certainly have been in the second.”

And Speare, made redundant as Stanley’s goalkeeping coach during the club’s cash crisis, knows from experience that the confidence created in recent weeks could push the Reds all the way to promotion.

“You get into the zone,” said Speare, now working as an asbestos removal man.

“You can get so much self-belief that it might come across to some people as arrogance, but you always feel it will be your day.

“I hope they get everything that they deserve, which is minimum a chance at the final.”