Accrington Stanley management duo John Coleman and Jimmy Bell have agreed new deals to keep them at the Crown Ground until 2015 to ease growing uncertainty over their futures.

The pair were being strongly linked with the vacant managerial role at League Two rivals Lincoln, having been made to wait almost 12 months for a new contract, but now look set to commit their long-term futures to the Reds.

The contracts are with the League Managers Association and will be signed when manager Coleman returns from collecting his UEFA Pro Licence in Ireland.

“We’ve always been happy at the club,” said Bell. “The one thing we’ve always wanted is a bit of security.”

Coleman and Bell have been at Stanley since 1999 and have guided the club from the UniBond First Division into the Football League, with chief executive Rob Heys hailing their contribution.

He said: “If we are honest it has taken too long to resolve, and for that we apologise.

"The stories of interest from Lincoln have admittedly had an impact on this being brought to a conclusion, although I didn’t really regard them as a threat, they are a good club and the people at Lincoln are great, but they aren’t all that much bigger than us and are playing in the same division.

“That said with John and Jimmy’s track record of success here it is only a matter of time before there is serious interest from a larger side.

“There have been ups and downs on both sides over the last ten years or so, however we have been together through the good times and the bad times and come out the other side all the better for it.

"They have done fantastic things here at Accrington Stanley and the most exciting thing is that we firmly believe there is more to come.”