JOHN Coleman admits he is excited by the squad he has inherited on his re-appointment as Accrington Stanley manager, and admits that will be the biggest change.

The returning Reds boss built his own team the last time he was in charge, with regular restoration work carried out when players moved on.

The side that went into the Football League was Coleman’s creation.

But the 51-year-old is ready to take on a new challenge second time around.

“That’s going to be the one thing that’s very, very different,” he said.

“I think I inherited two players when I took over the first time, so I took my whole Ashton team with me, and I could sign myself then as well. And Jimmy (Bell).

“That will be the big difference.

“At least three of them I regard very much as my players, but it might take a bit of time for the rest to get to know me. But once they do I’m sure they’ll love me!”

Falling out of love is something Coleman insists he never did with Accrington in his two and a half years away, which included spells at Rochdale, Southport and Sligo Rovers.

“When you’ve been at a club for 12 and a half years it’s never going to leave you,” he said. “You’re always looking out for how they’re getting on.

“The few times we came back to watch you’re watching as a fan so you feel the highs and lows as a fan as well.

“You’ve got to believe it’s 10 times worse when you’re in the dug-out. You kick every ball and you end up being shattered after every game.

“But it’s like a drug.

“I’d be lying if I said there wouldn’t be any other club in the Football League who I hold in the same esteem as Accrington.”

It is through such affection that Coleman found it hard to leave in the first place.

A new challenge and a higher level of football were big draws, but there were drawbacks with the switch to Spotland in January 2012 and question marks. Both Coleman and Bell wondered if they had done the right thing.

Relegation resulted in the duo being relieved of their duties just under 12 months later.

“You can always have regrets because I was out of work for a year and I was certainly regretting it then,” said Coleman about leaving Accrington Stanley at a time when he was the third longest serving manager in the country.

“But you can look back and learn from things.

“I made mistakes while we were here, while we were successful. I certainly made mistakes when I left at the clubs I was at. But I also did a lot of good things and got a lot of things right.

“We’ve been away for two and a half years. We’ve made mistakes in that time and we made mistakes while we were here. But I think we also did some positive things and made some good strides and had some smashing wins and some good achievements.

“Whatever way you look at it no-one can take away the fact that myself and Jimmy Bell brought Accrington Stanley into the Football League as the managerial duo. A lot of other people played a massive part in that and it would be churlish of us to try to take all the credit, and I certainly wouldn’t.

“The people who should take most of the credit is the players.

“But that can’t be taken away from us.”

It is not just what Coleman wants to be remembered for. Certainly not in his second spell, which kicks off at Northampton Town today.

“We’re not the type of people who rest on our laurels. If that’s all we wanted to do with our lives – be known for that – we may as well pack in and go and do something else,” he said.

“I still want to be successful. I still want to win things.

“That was part of the reason I went to Sligo Rovers because the opportunity was there to win things, and obviously the thrill of playing in Europe.

“I’ve had the taste of big games now, and I want more of them.”