JOHN Coleman said Accrington Stanley can’t afford to wait for things to happen as they attempt to return to winning ways against Ipswich Town tonight.

The Reds are without a win in three games and last tasted victory in a 1-0 win at Doncaster Rovers on February 17 which saw them climb in to the play-off places for the first time this season.

But two draws – including 1-1 at Fleetwood on Saturday – and a defeat has seen Stanley slip to seventh place.

Coleman knows there are plenty of games left to get it right but is looking for his side to be more proactive and consistent as they look to climb back into the play-off places.

“We have got to be more proactive, we spoke about it in the dressing room in a meeting after the game,” he said.

“Instead of hoping things will happen, we have got to make sure they do happen by being proactive.

“A lot of games between now and the end of the season involving every team in League One, they are akin to a toss of a coin, anything can happen on the day and you just have to try and be at your very best.

“When we are good, we are good, when we are bad, we are not very good.

“There doesn’t seem an in between, we don’t play averagely. On Saturday, there was times when we were very good but not just for long enough. Other times you think ‘What are we doing there?’

“We just have to try and get more consistency into our game but we have got to be more proactive to try and get what we want which is a play-off place and hopefully promotion.”

Coleman’s men host an Ipswich team that are looking for a new manager following Paul Lambert’s departure over the weekend despite the Tractor Boys lying eighth in the League One table.

But Coleman said he will not be overly concerned with the situation at Portman Road and will just concentrate on Stanley matters.

“Ipswich are on a good run of form,” he told the club website. “There are good times and bad times to play any teams but we have to get back to getting our own form right and not worry about the opposition too much.

“When we get it right, we are as good as anybody and we have proved that against the top teams.

“We have got to score more goals, have a little bit of luck, you have got to work hard and make things happen.”

With Ipswich now looking for Lambert’s replacement, Coleman admitted football can be brutal.

“Football in general sees a high turnover of managers,” he said.

“It’s a crazy industry, it’s cut-throat. It’s a brilliant industry to be in, but it’s also a terrible one – the way dealings go on, managers are maligned.

“It’s such a merry-go-round. It always has been just not as brutal as it is now but we have to get on with it.”