JOHN Coleman admitted he may have got it wrong on switching the goalkeepers for Accrington Stanley's penalty shoot-out defeat at Watford on Tuesday night.

The Reds boss brought on Charlton loanee Rob Elliot in the 119th minute for Ian Dunbavin who had had a stunning game for the Reds against the Premiership new boys in the Carling Cup second round.

The game was goalless after extra-time with the Reds losing 6-5 on penalties against the Hornets, who rested their big players.

"I have had time to reflect and maybe I shouldn't have subbed the keepers," said Coleman on Thursday morning.

"Bavs was playing well and Rob hasn't played for a long time and he just didn't seem right for the penalties for me. He didn't seem pro-active enough.

"But that's not about him, this is about me and it is being wise after the event.

"That is the value of hindsight. If I hadn't had swapped, and we had lost, I might have been wishing I had changed."

Peter Cavanagh and Paul Mullin had their spot kicks saved - although Leam Richardson had been marked down to take the seventh which Mullin took.

"I do admire anyone who takes the penalties," said Coleman.

"Me and Jimmy (Bell) did take it badly immediately after the game as it was a chance to take a big step forwards but we weren't slagging off the players.

"We know we have got good players and we just expect better from them because they have come so far.

"We don't want to be patronised and a pat on the back for almost beating Watford. We want to beat them.

"I could have had no complaints if we had been beaten by Watford's first team but this was their second team and I think we should have won.

"But we kept our first clean sheet on our travels and that is something to build on."

Coleman was also disappointed Stanley didn't go further because of the finances as he looks to buy a striker.

"The win would have been so important to us in terms of the finance it would have generated for the club," said the boss.

"It would have made a massive difference to our season. It could decide the calibre of player we bring in in January as it means now we may have to £50,000 to spend rather than £150,000 on someone."

However he does hope to have a loan forward in by next week.

On the other side, Coleman admitted that if defender Phil Edwards keeps turning in the Man of the Match performances, that he will struggle to hold onto him next year.

The ex-Wigan man has been a revelation in the centre of defence in the last three games and Coleman admitted: "If Phil carries on playing like he has been, I will have a fight on my hands to keep hold of him when the transfer window opens in January."

The manager does have a selection headache for tomorrow's (Sat) clash with Mansfield and Tuesday's match at Bury.

Elliot is pushing for a first team place and played in the 2-2 draw for the reserves at Wrexham in midweek with Andy Mangan and David Brown on target.

And centre half Michael Welch is desperate to return.

"I do have some headaches and that's the way it should be," said Coleman."Rommy Boco has come on as a sub and been outstanding in the last two games so he is pushing for a place.

"We want to start getting results away from home as we haven't won on our travels yet. This division is very tight - a win can move you up a lot of places while a defeat can bring you down again. It is tighter than any other league, it is like a rollercoaster, and we have to be prepared for that."