JOHN Coleman has told his players there will be no second chances in a Stanley shirt this season as they head into a huge week for the club.

With an EFL Cup clash against near neighbours Burnley tomorrow night, and the league visit of Lancashire rivals Morecambe on Saturday, the Reds were hoping for a morale-boosting win over Exeter City at the weekend.

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But they were undone by Jake Taylor’s late goal and manager Coleman says his side, who dominated the first half at home to the Grecians, must learn what’s at stake every time the take the field.

“It’s very, very frustrating,” he said of Saturday’s 2-1 defeat. “I’ve watched the game again and it was a game we could and should have won.

“If we played it another nine times we would probably win it another nine times.

“The lads have got to realise that each game is not a dress rehearsal, there’s no second chances, and they’ve got to realise the importance of getting three points on the board.

“That game was there for the taking, but once Exeter got their noses in front they looked as though they wanted it more and we’ve got to be like that from the first minute.

“In the end they’ve seen the game out quite well and if we’d have upped the tempo at any stage whilst it was level, I think we’d have won the game quite comfortably.

“We’ve got to speak to the players and we’ve got to educate them in probably improving their mindset and realising things aren’t going to happen. If you think you’re better than another team and you demonstrate it to a certain extent, it’s not enough.

“You’ve only got to look at Liverpool on Saturday, having 81 per cent possession against Burnley and losing the game.

“It’s not about possession and sometimes I think we get caught in the trap of thinking we’re better than the opposition and it’s just going to happen.

“Well it doesn’t, and there’s lots of teams who are prepared to bloody your nose.”

Stanley earned their clash with the Clarets by beating Bradford City in a thrilling sudden death penalty shootout, but Coleman was disappointed with how his side moved on from that.

He said: “I was quite guarded about that because I didn’t think our performance was good, although I know we were down to 10 men for a long period.

“But the last two weekend games have been similar in that we could have done what we wanted to the opposition and we didn’t do enough to them.

“That’s got to change. We’ve got to get hungrier for success and I’ve got to get the players as hungry as I am.

“You’ve got to realise the importance of each game, you’ve got to seize the opportunity.

“We’re waiting for it to happen instead of going and making it happen and that’s something that’s got to change very quickly.”