Marsh is the man to lead Stanley's charge

Crown Ground chairman Whalley is hoping summer signing Marsh will use all his experience to help Stanley clinch the UniBond Premier Division Championship next May - and seal a spot in the Nationwide Conference.

Marsh, 33 this month, is the one to watch for the Reds this season, with an illustrious career behind him which started when he picked up from his home town club Kirby Town by Liverpool, the club he supported as a boy.

"That was a dream come true for me and my dad said if I played one game in the red of Liverpool, he would die happy," said the midfielder.

Luckily Marsh got a few more than that from his five seasons there between 1987 and 1993 under Kenny Dalglish and current Blackburn boss Graeme Souness.

"I remember walking into the Liverpool changing rooms and seeing Ronnie Whelan. I was in shock for a while!"

He made his dad happy when he made his debut 18 months later.

"I was 18 and it was against Charlton at home. I can't remember much about it apart from my family were there and it was buzzing."

He played 70 games at Anfield - with six goals - and was a substitute at Wembley in their FA Cup final victory over Sunderland in 1992.

"I never got on but I didn't mind. We spent four days in London and it was a great experience. It was the best experience I have had in football."

That was under Souness who had recently recovered from a triple heart by-pass operation.

"He was one of the best managers I have ever worked under. I think he had a rough deal as manager at Liverpool.

"He had begun to turn things around, they called it a 'revolution.' He had new ideas which the old school weren't too happy about.

"Gerard Houllier's ideas now are one step further and he is hailed a hero. If Graeme Souness had been given the time, he would now be seeing the fruits of what he started off."

Nevertheless, Marsh did decide he had to leave Anfield in a bid to play first team football.

"I went to ask Graeme Souness if I could go. He had spent some money and I needed to get a regular place."

So he went to West Ham in a swap deal and made 58 appearances for the Hammers, admitting that his stay there helped him mature.

"It was a great experience, moving to London. I'd lived at Kirby all my life and it was the first time I had left home.

"I went with my wife and two kids and it was a great experience, I really grew up."

He stopped there for 15 months under Billy Bonds and Harry Redknapp before he made his next move in 1994 - a £450,000 switch to Coventry.

"This was the worst experience of my life. I only lasted five months and it was a nightmare. Phil Neal signed me and about five weeks later he left and Ron Atkinson took over. I never saw eye to eye with him."

That's when he got a telephone call off Souness who was then manager of Turkish side Galatasaray - although he did think it was a joke.

"I thought it was a wind up. He left a message with my mum and I thought it was just one of my mates messing around.

"Turkey probably wouldn't have been my first choice but I was playing for Coventry and I wanted to leave."

Marsh, who signed for £500,000, played the first three games in Turkey in 1995 but at the time, it was the three foreigner rule - and Souness added a fourth.

"When Brad Friedel came over, one of us had to be sacrificed and it was me. But I can say I was unbeaten in Turkey as we didn't lose one of those three games!"

Marsh lasted five months there - 'it was like being on holiday.'

He enjoyed the whole Turkish experience - although some of the rituals were unusual for an Englishman abroad.

"At the start of the season, they slit a sheep's throat for luck and they put the blood on your boots.

"They never put any on mine as I'm squeamish but it was just their custom.

"I think the Turks get some bad press as I was treated well over there."

He returned to England where his Liverpool connections paid off again. He linked up with Ronnie Whelan at then First Division Southend.

"I spent two and a half years there and it was wonderful!

"We finished mid-table in the first season but then we sold our family jewels, our best players, and I knew we were heading for relegation the following season."

And unfortunately, despite 97 appearances and 13 goals for the Shrimpers, his knee problems then started to come to the fore.

He only played until November in that relegation season and then he realised he needed an operation because of the wear and tear on his knee - 'it's got a hole in it.'

But by January he was back playing again.

"It was way too soon and it was never right. It was stop-start after that as it kept giving way."

He knew he would struggle to play professional football again and made the decision to take an insurance pay-out from the PFA - which meant he could never play league football again.

"I was gutted. I was settled in Southend and I did not want to give up but I was left with little option."

Instead he turned his hand to non-League football with Barrow in 1998-99.

"Again it was too soon, I went playing and my knee exploded. That was that, at 28, I faced the prospect of never playing football again and it was hard to deal with."

Thanks to the pay-out, Marsh didn't need to get a job immediately and instead spent a year at college studying History, English Literature and Sociology.

"I quite enjoyed it but I have never used them since."

Then another ex-Liverpool colleague got in touch in November 1999.

"Jan Molby gave me a ring to come to Kidderminster.

"It was one hour and 45 minutes from Liverpool but I had a look, liked it and he said I could train once a week. I had rested my knee and I felt okay.

"Jan Molby was a great manager to play under - the way he would put a point across.

"There was no screaming. He was talking to players who didn't have half the ability he had but he could convey his ideas well."

That first season Kidderminster won the Conference and Marsh couldn't enjoy their celebrations at reaching the league because of his pay-out.

"It was a definite case of mixed feelings."

So another ex-Red got on the phone - Mark Wright at Southport.

"The old Liverpool connections came in useful! I went there, we finished fourth so it was okay but at the end of the 2001 season, I decided I'd had enough and to pack in football."

But it wasn't long before the lure of full-time football came calling again when Conference side Boston got in touch that summer.

"It was a one-off opportunity for me and I decided to give it one last go."

Unfortunately Marsh's contract is one of those under investigation - with the player innocent of any charges - by the Football League. The Conference champions face 16 charges and could lose their league status.

However, by September things weren't working out for Marsh at York Street and Stanley made their first move for him. They didn't like Boston's asking price and so decided to wait until the end of the season when he became a free agent.

"I know the manager John Coleman as we are both from Kirby and we both go to the same pub.

"We had been in touch throughout this time and my knee felt fine.

"People talk about my knee problems but the last time I had been injured was four years ago at Barrow and I have a good playing record between then and now. I have not been injured since."

So he has begun pre-season at the Crown Ground and is ready to get stuck in for their bid to reach the Conference.

"I have done all pre season so far and am looking forward for the season to start.

"They are a lively bunch of lads and I am glad to be involved.

"I wouldn't have joined Accrington if I didn't think we had a good chance of winning the league.

"I was offered the chance to join Burscough as manager and although I would like to go into coaching and management, Burscough don't have the ambitions of Accrington.

"I must admit before I came here what I knew of Accrington was the milk advert from a few years ago.

"I know they are founder members of the Football League but I don't think that advert did them any favours!

"But they won three trophies last year so obviously they have got a lot of talent in the team.

"We just need to do it on a regular basis and hopefully with mine and now Mark Sertori's experience, we can win the league."

And if so, Marsh will fulfil another Red dream.