STANLEY'S John Coleman is calling on the fans to make some noise - and help the Reds kick off their home League Two season in style.
Stanley have two home games against Lincoln tomorrow (3pm) and Northampton (7.45pm) on Tuesday with the Reds boss believing he has one of his best ever Reds squads - and he wants the fans play their part in taking his side into the top half of the table in this campaign.
There is an optimistic mood around the Crown Ground after Stanley reached the Carling Cup second round for the first time since 2006 and face a trip to Championship side Queens Park Rangers in the week starting Monday 24 August.
This was after a last gasp win over League One side Walsall on Tuesday which certainly had those there - although there was only 1041 of them - on the edge of their seats.
"We need the crowd to get behind us," said Coleman. "The atmosphere on Tuesday was flat at first and I wanted my players to go out and play at a high tempo but they seemed to respond to the flatness of the crowd.
"I know it is a vicious circle that the players need to get the fans going too but a lively crowd helps to get us going as well as subduing the visiting side.
"They can act like the 12th man and they can really help the players. I keep saying it but I think we have got a really good side here at the moment. We have one of the strongest squads I have had at the club and I think we can go far, especially with the fans help."
He continued: "We will do our best on the pitch but I am a football fan too and I don’t just go there to stand and watch.
"Anyone passionate about a team, wants to be vocal, feel the atmosphere and it all enhances the experience and it can make a difference, working in our favour and working against the opposition."
Coleman hopes the Walsall win, coupled with a good home start to the season, will boost the crowd and therefore the finances of the cash-strapped club.
"The crowd of just over 1041 was disappointing for a Carling Cup clash - especially when you think back to the UniBond days when we got similar crowds on.
"We are in the Football League and I can’t put my finger on why people don't come.
"It could be finances but we are doing our best to provide entertaining football.
"There are some good, young players at the club and we have got a good chance of progressing this season. They are young and hungry and aree keen to do well and that should be for the benefit of the club."
Winger Bobby Grant is one of these.
He scored the crucial equaliser against Walsall before Paul Mullin grabbed a last gasp winner - his first goal since January.
Grant said: "I think I am a lot fitter this season and have had a good pre-season and scored a couple of goals. I am just hoping to remain injury free, to win a regular place in the team and get a few goals and help Accrington get some good results.
"We have a really good squad here this season - I think it is really strong.
"There is a lot of competition for places, there is a lot of fighting to get a start and that’s a good thing as it means you know you can’t have a bad performance and it spurs you on."
Stanley were gutted to lose their opening league fixture at Rotherham on Saturday where had their chances until an 89th minute goal for the Millers ruined the day.
Grant continued: "We didn’t play badly at Rotherham but we didn’t take our chances and a mistake cost us but hopefully we can learn from that and do well."
Meanwhile Coleman admits he feels that everyone seems to be ganging up on his side - but says it will only make him and his team stronger.
Betting scandals -with Stanley captain Peter Cavanagh suspended for eight months last Friday - affray charges, winding up orders - it's all happened at the Crown Ground in the summer and has left Coleman and the club having to take the flak.
Couple with this some on the field treatment by referees since the Reds have returned to the Football League and the boss admits he is feeling hard done by. But now he knows the score, he says he won’t let it beat him.
"We have got quite a few things which have gone against us outside of football and when you see things go against you on the pitch, sometimes you have to bite your lip or take it on the chin - or, in my case, chins," he managed to joke despite feeling that the Reds are battling a lone furrow.
"It will make us stronger and better people for it by rising above it and not getting drawn into it.
"I know deep down that 90 per cent of the games we go into, we generally do not get the rub of the green and that maybe because we are a small club and we have not got a good reputation at the moment.
"It seems everyone is dying to knock us down but we accept that. We might get a lot of decisions going against us but we are going to have to rise above it, not complain, not lose our discipline and hopefully overcome it with good, honest hard work.
"We have also tried to increase our own expectations and we are not going to try and raise our expectations of officials as I know, in the main, we are going to get the short straw because, perhaps, we are an unfashionable club and I accept that."
The Reds hope they can show their stuff in the next two home games and knows it’s vital to make their mark.
He said: "We haven’t got any points on the board yet which is a worry and that’s now our priority but Tuesday night’s win will have done us the world of good."
