JOHN Coleman celebrates one year back at Accrington Stanley today and is predicting an “exciting future” for the Reds.

Coleman and assistant Jimmy Bell returned to the Wham Stadium for a second spell in charge 365 days ago, and while he admits to frustrations during the past year, notably missing out on an FA Cup tie with Manchester United, the Reds chief believes the club is heading in the right direction.

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The duo’s first game back at the club saw a see-saw 5-4 win at Northampton, which on the field remains one of the highlights of their first year.

While Coleman has had to steady the ship and the get the Reds back on a firm financial footing over the past year, he is expecting happier times ahead for Stanley.

“I think the club was in danger of trying to be something that it couldn’t be,” he explained.

“If you try and be something that you’re not or something you can’t be it will quickly unravel on you so we had to cut our cloth accordingly and the budget had to be reduced.

“I think the future of the club is going in the right direction and it’s a lot healthier than when I left, that’s not down to me that’s down to the powers that be working behind the scenes.

“Over the next five to ten years we could see exciting times for Accrington Stanley.”

Coleman also pointed to taking a full pre-season and having the chance to build his own squad as a highlight, something that he has missed out on in recent appointments.

But top of his list of frustrations is the FA Cup second round defeat to Yeovil last year, which meant the club missed out on hosting Manchester United in the third round.

“There’s been a couple of frustrations, missing out on the game against Manchester United was frustrating, losing a couple of players in the summer was frustrating,” he said.

While Coleman has noticed changes at the club, he has also spotted changes within himself.

“I’ve changed a lot, I’ve learned a lot, I’ve learned from mistakes and I’ve tried to put things right,” he said.