Accrington Stanley manager John Coleman was impressed with a number of performances in the 1-0 win against League One side Blackpool on Wednesday night - not least the display by Andy Mangan against his former side.

"I thought Andy showed a lot of responsibility," Coleman said.

"That part of his game has let him down in the past but he was careful on the ball, he made intelligent runs and if he keeps playing like that he'll be pushing for a starting place.

"He was desperate to score against Blackpool. He even resorted to asking me silly things like could he be captain!

"But there were some big performances out there, some good defensive qualities from young lads. That's pleasing and maybe they'll take that as a feather in their cap.

"It's nice to come off with a clean sheet and win the game, albeit not getting any reward for it, but it might give a few of the lads a bit of confidence and maybe they'll take that into the season."

He added: "We'll look to try to get another 45 minutes maybe a 90 in for Paul Mullin either tomorrow or Monday.

"Paul's such an important part of our team and when he doesn't play we all miss him."

Coleman was also delighted to see Jay Harris, who is expected to soon put pen to paper on a one-year deal, get on the scoresheet.

"It was a great finish by Jay. I thought maybe he hit it a touch early but he's a confident lad and he's not shy to put his foot in when it counts. It was a great goal and we could have had a couple more.

"They could have had a couple as well but we created chances and I was pleased with that."