Staff news ( Friday 1st May 2009 )
Management duo sign new deal
Stanley manager John coleman and his assistant Jimmy Bell have this afternoon agreed new deals to keep them at the club for an eleventh year on a twelve month rolling deal.
Over the last ten years the duo have taken Accrington Stanley from the UniBond First Division, then through the UniBond Premier League and the Nationwide Conference before leading us back into the Football League where we have successfully competed for the last three years.
John and Jimmy will put pen to paper on the contract next week, with John becoming the Football League's longest serving manager, and third longest serving in the country behind Manchester United's Alex Ferguson and Arsenal's Arsene Wenger.
Speaking about the agreement the Stanley boss said "I've always loved being at Accrington Stanley and never wanted to go anywhere else. We've enjoyed some good success over the years but I have always been of the opinion that there is still so much we can do here. You look at our results this season and if we had got what we arguably deserved from some of those games we would have been much higher up the table. I am looking to keep a lot of the squad together from this season with one or two key additions and we are already looking forward to the challenge of next season."
Stanley chief executive Rob Heys added "It is great to have agreed a new deal with John and Jimmy, their committment to the club has always been unquestionable and we look foward to working together in the future to keep the club moving forward both on and off the field."
Talks are now well underway with the squad with regards to next season, with further news of the results of player contract negotiations to be announced next week