ACCRINGTON Stanley are trying to play a brand of football that will get fans through the turnstiles, according to Reds chief John Coleman.

Stanley’s 1-0 win over Burton Albion on Tuesday was watched by a crowd of 919, which was the second time this season less than 1,000 people have turned up for a league game at the Store First Stadium, after 947 watched the 3-1 win over Hartlepool in October.

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Tuesday’s crowd was the lowest in the Football League in 13 years, and the lowest since 1998 if you discount the boycott of Wimbledon games by their supporters, which led to 849 people watching them play Rotherham in 2002.

Coleman praised the fans in attendance as ‘brilliant’, and said his side could do no more than play good football and win games to boost the gates.

“We can try to put on a brand of football that makes people want to come, we can try and win games, which is the big attraction to get people through the door, but people will choose to spend their money whatever way they want,” said the Stanley boss.

“It wasn’t the best night on Tuesday. You’ve got Blackburn playing up the road, and Man City playing Barcelona, which for a football fan is a game everyone is going to watch on the telly, so that’s going to be a big factor in how low the gate was.

“The fans are brilliant and when they come they’re great and they get behind us.

“Just because you get more fans doesn’t mean you win games, Portsmouth will testify to that.

“All we can do is try and please the ones that come.”

Coleman admits that the low crowds will inevitably play a part in how ambitious the club can be in attracting top players.

The Reds next play at home on Tuesday, when Shrewsbury are the visitors to the Store First Stadium, and the boss said the low crowds weren’t affecting his players.

“It doesn’t affect us, it’s a catch 22 situation,” he said.

“More people through the gate means better finances for the club, which means we can attract better players and we’ll get better results and play better football, which means we’ll attract more fans, so it should be a spiral upwards.

“We can’t control that, all we can do is try to play as well as we can.”