Accrington Stanley have secured four-year deals for manager John Coleman, assistant manager Jimmy Bell and coach John Doolan.
The trio’s contracts were set to expire in 2022, but owner Andy Holt has successfully sought to add another two years to their stay.
Coaching Trio Agree Four-Year Deals at Accrington Stanley
✍️ John Coleman, Jimmy Bell and John Doolan have all signed new four-year contracts at #asfc.
The management trio’s new deals will keep them at the club until 2024.
➡️ https://t.co/hNQjxMyOJ7 pic.twitter.com/j8XtBITGAr
— Accrington Stanley FC (@ASFCofficial) September 17, 2020
Part of the Furniture
There is not much John Coleman hasn’t seen at Accrington Stanley, having been at the club twice, and for 13 years in his first spell. He rejoined the club in 2014 and has been in place ever since. Should he see out his new contract, he will reach 10 years at the club for a second time
Coleman has taken the football club from Non-League to League One, winning the League Two title in 2017/18. All of his four promotion campaigns saw the club win the Championships they were competing for.
With the longevity of Coleman’s time at Accrington, there will be a number of young fans that have seen very little of life without him at the club, and may never want to see more. He has done an immaculate job. Coleman is the fourth longest-serving manager in England’s top four leagues, behind Harrogate Town‘s Simon Weaver, Wycombe Wanderers‘ Gareth Ainsworth, and Burnley‘s Sean Dyche.
Importance of Security and Certainty in Trying Times
Owner Andy Holt told the club website: “In these times of uncertainty we want to make sure there is security and certainty at the club.
“It shows a level of commitment from both parties and, now the long-term future in terms of the management is secure, we can get our head down and get through COVID together and this delights me.
“As I have said all along, we can have no better management team for Accrington Stanley.”
Only Accrington Stanley for John Coleman
“I don’t need contracts,” John Coleman said. “I never had them in the past and I don’t need them now.
“It’s good for security, it’s a little bit of security for me, Jimmy and John and for the club.
“I have got no desire to leave and, as long as the club don’t want me to leave, that’s fine.”
Hearts and Souls Belong at the Club
Jimmy Bell was also at Accrington Stanley in 1999, as with Coleman. He followed Coleman to Rochdale in 2012, and ended up back at Stanley.
“It means a lot to get a new contract as our hearts and souls are at the club and have been for a long while,” Bell added.
“The club is very stable now and it’s going forward so me, John, and John are more than happy to be staying here longer, and hopefully we can carry on building the way we have been the last couple of years.”
John Doolan joined the coaching staff at Accrington Stanley in 2017, helping them in gaining promotion to League One.
“I am really happy, I am really settled here and have loved the club since day one,” Doolan said. “It’s been first class.
“I enjoy working with John and Jimmy and it’s a great club to be at.”
Positive Start
Accrington Stanley finished the season in 17th place last season, beating the drop by eight points. They will be looking to build on the performance of the last campaign this season and kickstarted the season with a good 2-0 win over Peterborough United at Wham Stadium on Saturday.
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