ACCRINGTON Stanley have extended Anthony Barry’s loan until the end of the season, but they have said goodbye to two players who have left the club after their short-term deals ended.

Barry, 28, has been at the Store First Stadium since October when he signed on loan from Forest Green Rovers, and he has featured three times for the Reds in his second spell with the club.

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But goalkeeper Luke Simpson and midfielder Craig Roddan have both left the club.

Simpson joined Stanley in the summer and made eight first team appearances, with Roddan featuring once in the FA Cup at Notts County.

Boss John Coleman was pleased to have been able to keep Barry at the club until the end of this campaign.

“He’s great to have around the place and his good habits tend to rub off on the rest of the players,” he explained.

“It’s been a bit frustrating for Anthony that he hasn’t played as much as he would have wanted.

“I sat down and had a chat with him and said that this situation probably suits us a bit more than it suits him to be honest.

“He’s a good player, he’s willing and ready and I know that he wants to be playing.

“He loves the club and we didn’t have to think twice about extending the deal.

“He’s a valuable experienced professional in our dressing room, he’s got a good rapport with the players and I’ve got no hesitation in putting him in the team if we need to play him. He’s a great asset to us.”

The departure of Simpson leaves Stanley with yet another goalkeeping headache before Friday’s League Two clash with Bury.

On-loan stopper Jack Rose is still battling a hip injury, and the only other keeper still at the Store First Stadium is Andrew Dawber, 20, who would become the seventh keeper to play for the club this season if he is selected on Friday.

“It’s a difficult one for Luke because it’s been no secret that we’ve had good keepers on loan who have got injured,” Coleman said.

“We were looking at a short-term contract for Luke but he feels as though he’s better off looking elsewhere because he needs to play.

“I’ve got no problem with that. I always think that players should want to play and so it’s a testament to the lad’s character that he wants to play and doesn’t want to sit around and be a number two.

“Ultimately that’s the reason why he’s decided to leave the club.

“Craig Roddan is pretty similar. He could have stayed here until the end of the season and not really played but he just needs to be playing regular football.”