JOHN Coleman isn’t interested in being level on points with Sunderland in League One - instead his focus is on ensuring his side remain in the top six having broken into the play-off places for the first time this season with the 1-0 midweek win over Doncaster.

When Coleman walked through the door at Accrington in 1999 the club was in the UniBond League and Sunderland went on to finish that season seventh in the top flight and boasted the golden boot winner in Kevin Phillips.

Stanley’s latest three points lifted the Reds into fifth, behind the Black Cats on goal difference, and Coleman, while acknowledging that the comparison between his side and Sunderland is always likely to be made, is keen to ensure the Reds keep progressing.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Coleman on the contrasting fortunes of the sides in the intervening years.

“But we don’t want to look at other clubs, we want to get ourselves a position where we can challenge,” he said.

“We always said we wanted to challenge at the top end and not at the bottom end.

“Plenty of clubs would have come up and felt sorry for themselves and said we have a little budget, no training facilities and so we will do well to stay up.

“But if you are going to do that then don’t bother entering the league. If you are entering the league and your only thought is survival then you shouldn’t be in the league in my view.”

Stanley visit struggling Shrewsbury Town on Saturday bidding for a fourth straight win having impressed in seeing off Doncaster on home soil on Tuesday night.

Coleman added: “Doncaster are a very good side, they will be challenging for automatic promotion at the end of the season and we just have to hang in there.

“We have proved we can play good football, some of their players were glowing with praise with the way we played. Some of the football was fantastic and long may it continue.”