ACCRINGTON Stanley boss John Coleman will work on defensive reinforcements over the summer, after Saturday’s 4-0 thrashing at Dagenham and Redbridge took their tally of goals conceded to 76, with one game to go.

The Reds have conceded the most in League Two – 10 more than relegated Tranmere Rovers.

MORE TOP STORIES:

And Coleman fears Stanley could end up in a similar situation to the Wirral club this time next year if he does not put an emphasis on tightening up at the back.

He said: “Defensively we’re not good enough and that’s something we’ve got to strive to improve on next year.

“We might need a little bit of revamping all over the park, but if we concede that many goals next year we’ll be in danger of going down.”

Stanley lost first choice centre half Tom Aldred to Blackpool in the January window and experienced right back Nicky Hunt was absent on Saturday due to a one-match suspension – a reduced punishment from his straight red card in the previous home game with Stevenage.

“The goals we conceded weren’t down to tiredness, it was just bad defending really,” Coleman told the club’s official website.

“To concede from the first ball into our box was disappointing.

“Dagenham didn’t really have to do much in the first half to take the lead.

“We gifted them a goal in the second half 30 seconds after changing our shape, so that didn’t have any chance to take effect. And then we huffed and puffed really.

“We had them on the back foot for 20 minutes of the second half but never really looked like scoring .”

He added: “It looked like a typical end of season game. They looked more up for it than us and that’s disappointing.”

One positive for Stanley was a Football League debut for 18-year-old Max Hazeldine, who replaced Shay McCartan for the final 14 minutes.

“It wouldn’t have been nice to come on and the way it panned out but I’m sure he’ll have many more games,” said the Reds boss, who is aiming to end the season on a winning note when they host Mansfield on Saturday, after their five-game unbeaten run was ended by Dagenham.

“We’ve got to try.

“We’ve been on a good run of form and been playing really well. That didn’t look like the team that battered Stevenage with 10 men.”