JOHN Coleman says he is disappointed that Accrington Stanley have not made more progress since their return to the Football League three years ago.

Just remaining in the division is a challenge for a club with the lowest crowds and the lowest budget in League Two, and the Reds have finished 20th, 17th and 16th in their three seasons since promotion from the Conference.

This season they registered their highest finish since 1960 but the long-serving Coleman, who remains hopeful of a fourth promotion as Reds boss, had expected more as he guided Stanley closer to the Football League.

“I thought we’d get into the league, but I thought we’d have more of an impact in the league once we got into it,” he reflected.

Coleman’s budget has been cut by 25 per cent for next season because of a decline in attendances at the Fraser Eagle Stadium and the current financial climate.

The manager will again be involved in negotiations over individual player wages as he bids to assemble a squad for next season.

He said: “I’ve always had an input in the wages, so it’s nothing new, but we have to cut our cloth accordingly. There’s no point bleating about it.

“If people don’t come and put their money through the turnstiles, we can’t pay it out. That’s the harsh reality.

“I’m not going to blame anybody. It’s just fact.

“If you’re doing a job and you get paid X amount of money and your wife wants to spend more than what you give her, she can’t spend it.

“That’s what it comes down to – housekeeping.”

Coleman has already started the search for new players and his priority may be a striker, after the Reds scored the least goals in League Two during 2007/08.

Paul Mullin is expected to return from an unsuccessful loan at Bradford City, while the Reds have already expressed an interest in bringing Craig Lindfield and Michael Symes back to the club following loans at the Fraser Eagle Stadium this season.

But Coleman said: “It’s not just strikers.

“We’re going to have to get defenders in and midfielders.

“We’re going to have to strengthen our squad and try to compete.

“You can’t stop, because if you switch off you start to go backwards.

“We want to go forwards and, while I’m still at the club and Jimmy (Bell) is still at the club, we’ll try our best to do that.

“We’ve already spoken to some of the players here (about new contracts) and I’ll try to find the right ones to bring in when I can.”