Accrington Stanley boss John Coleman expects chances galore against Exeter

The Reds were back to somewhere near their best in the 1-1 draw at Wycombe on Tuesday, especially in a second-half display that saw them take the game to the Chairboys.

And with a new pitch at the Wham Stadium looking like a carpet ahead of a stretch of four home games in a row, the manager is licking his lips at the prospect of an entertaining encounter.

“It will be a good game,” said Coleman. “I’m looking forward to it because the pitch is looking better by the day and I think it will be conducive to good football, and I would think there will be lots of chances.

“Exeter have had that reputation for playing good football for a while under Paul Tisdale, and I’d like to think that we’ve got a reputation of how we play.

“Everybody knows we try and get the ball down, but I think our approach is a bit unique as it’s more intense than the other teams who try and play football or who play it out from the back.

“The one thing that’s always impressed me about Exeter is when they’ve come up against teams who’ve played like them they’ve tried to deny them space, similar to what we try to do.

“The style of a lot of teams play in our league is probably the opposite to the way we play.

“There will be teams who put a lot of men behind the ball. Exeter are one of the few teams who will come here and try and play. But you have to be able to cope with whatever the opposition throws at you.

“Sometimes you have to just applaud when the other team is better than you and you just have to hope that you’re better than them more often than not.”

Coleman is a fan of his opposite number Tisdale, who pushes the boundaries of dugout attire with his eye-catching outfits.

“I’ve got a lot of time for Paul,” he said. “He’s good for football… and he’s unbelievably good for fashion! He knows the game inside out and he’s always been capable of getting you, young, hungry players.”