John Coleman and Andy Holt have a closer manager-owner relationship than most. They are regularly at logger-heads, but that’s more to do with card games en route to away fixtures, than footballing or business matters.

‘A terrible card player’, Coleman said of Holt, before adding: “We’re both singing off the same hymn sheet. The good thing is that he doesn’t profess to know too much about football so he lets me get on with that and I leave him to the business side which is how I think it should be.”

That is exactly the kind of relationship that has helped Stanley flourish. A sign outside the ground declaring ‘the club that wouldn’t die’ is a mantra Coleman is wanting to get away from, believing there is a bright future for the club.

“I have said it for the last couple of years, there’s never been a better time to be at Accrington.” Coleman said.

“I have done the hard yards, with a lot of people who worked tirelessly to keep this club afloat, a lot of them not paid, and a lot of unsung heroes, people who have put money in to keep the club going.

“Andy has gone down a different path, we don’t just want to try and survive, we want to flourish. I embrace that. We have the sign outside, ‘the club that wouldn’t die’ and I want to be move away from that, I don’t want to be the club just living by their means. I want to be fighting our corner. I think we have done that on the pitch.

“We have a good reputation now with the way we play the game, how passionate we are and the good football we play and we always have to try and improve.”

On the pitch, Stanley have flourished after promotion from League Two, despite their progress stalling of late with no league goal in five matches, while postponements and FA Cup involvement have seen them slip to up to three games behind their rivals.

The recent poor weather hasn’t helped preparations for today’s trip to Scunthorpe. But plans for a new training ground are priority number one, with the Wham Stadium having already seen the introduction of the new 1,500 seater Eric Whalley Stand this season.

Proposals were passed by Ribble Valley Council in June for a permanent training base at land off Whalley Road in Read, owned by Holt.

And Coleman said: “A lot of teams have their own training ground which is very high on our priority list to achieve here.

“Knowing Andy I know that when we do get our training ground it will be as good as it can be. There won’t be any corners cut. We’re probably better off waiting for a good one.

“Long term, I think everyone will benefit from it.

“Because we don’t have a training ground we have to create an environment that’s conducive to hard work but make it enjoyable as well. We can’t promise them an all singing, all dancing training ground so we have to create the environment ourselves. We have a part to play in that and so do the players.”

That facility will give Stanley a long-term home and indicate the level of progress being made by the club, in Coleman’s eyes.

“Andy, we come from the same background and he shares my vision. You want to try and get the club on its own two feet, but something that the town, and we, can be proud of.

“We want to be able to reflect on the part we’ve played, and that will only be there if we can create something special.”