ACCRINGTON Stanley manager John Coleman hopes to make at least one more signing in the January transfer window.

The Reds boss this week secured a return for Gary Roberts, who was instrumental in the club securing promotion back to the Football League in 2006.

And he is planning to do more business before the end of the month.

"We're hoping to bring in one or two more, and I think it's going to be essential playing so many games in a short space of time," said Coleman, whose side is facing a run of one game every four days as they play catch-up due to postponements for Covid and the weather.

"We're going to have to have players in.

"We have got a good squad here already. Everyone's pushing for places and chomping at the bit to play.

"We haven't played for three weeks - it's strange times but we've just got to keep going and see where that brings us."

Stanley last kicked a competitive ball on December 19. The Boxing Day clash at Doncaster Rovers and scheduled home game with Sunderland on December 29 were both postponed due to Covid outbreaks in the opposition camps, while Saturday's home game with Portsmouth fell foul of the weather.

Coleman is looking forward to return to action against Charlton Athletic on Friday night, live on Sky, but admits their stop-start season has posed problems, having previously missed four games due when coronavirus swept through the squad in October-November and forced a two-week shutdown of the club.

"It's frustrating because you've got a lot of players with a lot of pent-up energy, and you're preparing for games like they're going to take place, so you're actually reaching a peak all the while and then that tapers down and you start again, and you start again, and you start again." said the Stanley boss.

"We were on a decent run of form, we'd been playing well and you've got to carry on playing when it's going like that. But we can't govern what happens to us. It's not our decision. We've certainly got no control over the weather and I think everybody's struggling to get any control over Covid. We have to just carry on going and do our best.

"We won't use any excuses. We'll be prepared, as best we can, and we'll give it our best shot."

Having had his own squad so heavily impacted by the virus he remains mindful of the bigger picture.

"There are a lot of people a lot more worse off than us," he continued. "People dying, people losing family members, health workers rushed off their feet, doctors nurses working 16-hour shifts, hospitals jammed to the rafters.

"There are people in a lot worse situations. We've just got to get on and try to make the best of our job as we know how."

Seventeen players and two members of staff tested positive for coronavirus earlier in the season, and after the mass testing throughout the Football League this week one further, un-named, player is isolating after testing positive.

"It wasn't too bad for us. We only had one player who tested positive. A lot of our players have already had it. We'll follow the protocols that we have to do."

Asked if there needed to be more frequent testing, Coleman added: "It's not for me to say. Initially we got tested quite a bit, then we didn't. It (the virus) seemed to tail off anyway.

"Hindsight's a wonderful thing. We could have had a shut-down three weeks ago, not many games have gone ahead in the last three weeks.

"Could that have been the answer? Nobody knows what's going to be round the corner anyway in the next couple of weeks.

"From our point of view a lot of our players have already had it so testing is probably immaterial.

"But in the wider picture we're just a reflection of society and we have to abide by the rules that society abides by and if that means getting tested to try to eliminate this disease then so be it."