ACCRINGTON Stanley chairman Peter Marsden has appealed for the football fans of East Lancashire to turn up in numbers and help cheer the Reds to League Two survival when they host Morecambe tomorrow night.

Stanley sit two points above the relegation zone with just three games remaining and the club hope that a Friday night fixture will lead to a bumper crowd of Reds fans.

Accrington often switch a home match to Friday night each season and Marsden also hopes the change will allow supporters of Blackburn Rovers and Burnley to lend their support, with neither club in action until Saturday.

The battle to avoid relegation to non-league remains tight, with seven clubs within four points at the bottom of the League Two table.

Stanley scored in injury time to secure what could be a crucial draw at relegation rivals York at the weekend and Marsden says the fans were also important at that game.

“I would like to thank so many fans making the trip to York,” said the Reds chairman. “The atmosphere was electric and the Stanley fans really helped to suck the ball into the York net.

“The finishing line for League Two survival is in sight. We probably need two victories to make sure we are safe.

“I would like to call on everybody, not just Stanley fans but people across East Lancashire to come down to the game against Morecambe.

“Maybe Rovers and Clarets fans will also be able to lend their support. “It would be great for East Lancashire to really get behind the team because they can be our 12th man.”

The funeral of Jack Barrett, the man regarded as the ‘saviour of Stanley’ after playing a pivotal role in their revival in the 1960s, was held on Tuesday.

Marsden said: “People such as Jack Barrett, Ilyas Khan, Eric Whalley, John Coleman and Jimmy Bell worked hard to get the club into the Football League and keep it there, and we will not let them down now.

“Dropping out of League Two is not on our agenda.”