John Coleman: Accrington Stanley boss says League One survival would be biggest moment of career

Accrington Stanley boss John Coleman (left) oversaw victory against Ian Evatt's (right) Bolton Wanderers on Tuesday to keep up their fight for League One survival

Accrington Stanley boss John Coleman says it would be the biggest moment of his career if he can keep the club in League One this season.

Stanley are 22nd with two games to go and are two points from safety.

They face fellow strugglers Cambridge United at home on Saturday knowing a win could take their survival battle to the final day of the season.

"People who know this league will know the difficulties we've come up against this season," Coleman, 60, said.

Speaking to BBC Radio Lancashire, he continued: "It would be a wonderful achievement if we can get out of it. It would be the biggest moment of my career, that's for sure.

"All you can do is try to do your job. What you'd hate to happen is not to do your job then other teams don't do their jobs and they stay up and you don't, so we've got to give it everything we've got."

Accrington beat play-off chasing Bolton Wanderers 1-0 away from home in midweek to continue their battle against the drop.

Coleman pointed towards the disparity in teams in League One as to why it has been difficult for them to compete this season with such a modest budget.

"Four teams have to go down and it will be four good teams. Already a well-run club, Forest Green, have gone. Another three are going to have to go with them," he continued.

"We don't want to be one of them but it's a reality that you're going to be fighting around this end while there's big clubs in there.

"You can't compete with them. You can compete with them in one-offs but you can't over the course of a season. Their resources dwarf you. If you look at Bolton [on Tuesday] they used five forwards. Every single one of them will be on at least double our top paid player. Probably triple. How do you compete with that?

"That's what you're up against, not just Bolton, it's your Sheffield Wednesdays, your Ipswich Towns, your Derby Countys. You could go on and on.

"They've got bigger resources than you. That doesn't mean you throw the towel in every week. In the main we've done great. You're going to have a year where things don't go your way, but we're still in there."