Leam Richardson: Accrington survival "my biggest achievement"

Manager Leam Richardson believes keeping Accrington Stanley in the Football League is his biggest accomplishment in the game.

Stanley guaranteed League Two survival with a 1-0 win at Bristol Rovers.

And the Accrington boss has compared his side's achievement with that of fourth-tier champions Gillingham.

"I'm sure (Gillingham manager) Martin Allen won't mind me saying that our achievement is just as big as them winning the league," said Richardson.

He told BBC Radio Lancashire: "They're set up to win the league, but we're not set up to stay in the league and we've done it. As long as we can keep working hard and improve every year, we'll have some good times.

"I was lucky enough to be there [as a player] when we came up into the Football League [in 2006]. We got some great plaudits. For me, every time we stay in the league, it's exactly the same."

Richardson, 33, was handed his first managerial role when he took charge of Stanley in November following the departure of Paul Cook to Chesterfield.

A run of one win in 11 league matches saw Accrington slip into relegation trouble, while the club were late with wage payments to some players in March.

But an unbeaten sequence of five matches, during which Stanley have picked up 11 points, has been enough to preserve the club's League Two status.

Prominent in their battle for Football League safety has been full-back Lee Molyneux, who has scored eight goals in his last 12 games including another stunning winner at the Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

Molyneux added: "The gaffer's brought some great players in - the likes of Amine Linganzi, Nicky Hunt, James Beattie, Francis Jeffers, Laurence Wilson - they're all experienced lads and they've all helped the cause. We were a young squad and you need those sort of players to help you through.

"None of the lads ever doubted the manager. He's so hungry and he's like any one of us. We all want to play higher one day and he wants to manage higher.

"He's kept the lads together and he's been brilliant to me and I can't thank him enough."