Coleman admits saying goodbye to Stanley was ‘gut-wrenching’ (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Coleman admits saying goodbye to Stanley was ‘gut-wrenching’

8:37am Wednesday 25th January 2012 in News By Suzanne Geldard, Burnley FC reporter

JOHN Coleman, Rochdale manager.

After 12 and a half years at the Accrington Stanley helm he admits his change in status is taking some getting used to.

“I’m still getting my head round it,” said the 49-year-old, who was officially unveiled as Steve Eyre's successor at Spotland yesterday afternoon, 24 hours after bidding farewell to players and staff at the Crown Ground, some of whom he had worked with for his entire tenure.

“It was gut-wrenching to be honest. It was very difficult to say goodbye and there were a few tears shed – one or two by me.

“I haven’t slept for the past couple of nights and even on Monday afternoon I was wondering if I made the right decision.”

“But when I consider it and look at it logically, I’ve got to think I made the right decision.”

Although much has been made of the Reds' financial situation, certainly in the last three seasons, Coleman's move wasn't motivated by money.

Football, he felt, had outgrown the football club. “Without going into details on contracts, we haven’t come for a great deal differently than we were on at Accrington. The big thing was Accrington couldn’t match the ambition me and Jimmy wanted to send ourselves in a different direction,” he said.

“If there had been a bit more light at the end of the tunnel – if we wait around for another year things might develop – we didn’t see that at Accrington. Although they’re going in the right direction, possibly not as quickly as me and Jimmy wanted them to.”

Coleman took the Reds to the League Two play-offs last season, five years after masterminding their return to the Football League – his third promotion after starting out in the UniBond First Division when he took charge May 1999. He has improved the club year-on-year, be it positionally or on points.

But the challenge to keep repeating that feat was getting ever greater, without the budget keeping pace for a team that almost went out of business in 2009 over an outstanding tax bill.

“We didn’t spend money we didn’t have. We got caught up in a tax system that took us by surprise because we’d gone quickly from non-league and from part-time to full-time,” he said.

“Accrington could’ve taken the easy option and gone into administration and it’s credit to them they haven’t and remained true to their morals and not ducked the debt at someone else’s expense.

“I know fans will say, ‘We only got saved at the last minute. We’re in dire straits.’ But those same fans enjoyed 10 years of football when we were getting ourselves into debt that we possibly couldn’t have achieved.

“But the club's going in the right direction. It’s getting better and it’s certainly not in as much debt as they were, if any.

“It’s an expensive thing running a football club on small gates. It’s hats off to the people who have kept the club afloat.”

While there is clear admiration, there was an underlying frustration for their ambitious boss.

“Even in the early days Eric Whalley always backed me as much as he could, and even now they’ve done that. But sometimes you’re possibly asking for things that are unrealistic. The disappointing thing is when you see targets go to other clubs for financial reasons,” he revealed.

“We couldn’t go down the road of crippling the club again with finances, so you had to look at them like a kid in a sweet shop and that can be frustrating.

“On the counter side we had a lot of players with a lot of heart, possibly not the most easy on the eye but we moulded them into a team that can play attacking attractive football and that’s what we’ve left them with.

“If they carry that on, we’ll have left something that can’t be wiped out and certainly bringing into the League is a legacy that will remain in history and one we’re very proud of.”

Stanley fans once walked from the Crown Ground to Spotland to raise money to stop their club from going under. They'd have done the same, and more, to keep Coleman.

But he is confident the club won't fall apart at the seams.

“My message to the players was don’t let people’s perception of John Coleman and Jimmy Bell being what drove the club forward be right – we were just a part of it,” he said.

“We don’t kick balls off the line, we don’t make last-ditch tackles, we don’t score goals. We drove that home to the players to keep the run they were on going and don’t let people undervalue their contribution by falling away.

“I know I’ve left a decent squad who are used to not getting beaten. Over the past 60 or 70 games, we’ve lost about 13. I hope whoever takes them over gets them back winning games.”

Their first without him is on Saturday, at home to Gillingham.

Long-serving left back Leam Richardson heads a three-man caretaker team, along with veteran midfielder Bryan Hughes and youth coach Phil Hackney.

“I thought Mark Patterson would have been the ideal person alongside Leam and Bryan Hughes. I’m surprised they haven’t gone down that road,” he said.

“I’ve a lot of time for Leam and I’ve no doubt he will do a good job.”

For Coleman, who recently became a grandfather for the first time, it is all about new beginnings. For the fans he leaves behind, his message is as it ever was: “Keep the faith!”