Workload is no worry for Accrington Stanley manager (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Workload is no worry for Accrington Stanley manager

10:19am Tuesday 24th November 2009

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NO team in the country has played more games than Accrington Stanley this season, but boss John Coleman believes his players can cope with the workload as they start another busy period against Macclesfield tonight.

Weather permitting, Stanley are scheduled to play four games in 12 days having already completed 25 matches during a frantic start to the 2009/10 season.

Only League One side Carlisle United can claim to have equalled that total, even if two of Stanley’s first-team games came in fund-raising friendlies against Burnley and Blackburn Rovers.

Port Vale have played 24 matches, while Burnley – the club with the busiest fixture list for much of last season, when they played 61 matches – have played just 15 games so far this time around.

Stanley are hopeful that tonight’s match against 19th-placed Macclesfield will survive this week’s wet conditions and Coleman believes his youthful squad, boosted by Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Bradford City, will not be feeling too tired at this stage of the season.

“I think we’re fortunate that we’ve got young lads,” said the Reds boss, who has seen his side make progress in all three cup competitions this season.

“We’ve got a very young squad and they’ve got a lot of enthusiasm which is taking them through at the moment.

“The older ones are wise enough to maybe know when they can take their foot off the gas, although unfortunately for us that’s not very often.

“But I wouldn’t be worrying about that too much yet, possibly when it comes to January and February, and hopefully we might have strengthened by then anyway.

“If we’d got beat on Saturday, I think the players would have felt a lot more tired.

“But we said to the players that there’s no point going away and getting a great point at Bradford if you let yourselves down at home.”

Stanley – scheduled to wear their new home kit for the first time tonight – claimed arguably their most important result of last season in their last meeting with Macclesfield, winning 2-0 at Moss Rose to turn around their fortunes as they slid towards the relegation zone.

Michael Symes and John Miles will face their former side, while the Silkmen include Wayne Rooney’s younger brother John.

Stanley’s recent form, losing just one in seven, contrasts with the visitors’ run of five games without a win.

Possible Stanley line-up: Ian Dunbavin; Tom Lees, Phil Edwards, Darran Kempson, Dean Winnard; Sean McConville, Jimmy Ryan, Andy Procter, John Miles; Michael Symes, Bobby Grant.

Possible Macclesfield line-up: Jon Brain; Lee Bell, Shaun Brisley, Paul Morgan, Carl Tremarco; Izak Reid, Ross Draper, Hamza Bencherif, John Rooney; Emile Sinclair, Matt Tipton.

Referee: Tony Bates

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