PLAYERS, officials and fans of Accrington Stanley have united to condemn a vandal who spray-painted the words Coleman Out on the pitch last Friday night.

The graffiti, in large letters, was found on Saturday morning just hours before the League Two game against Lincoln.

Ground staff did a hasty cover-up job using green paint and most spectators were unaware of what had happened.

The scrawl was a reference to Stanley's manager of nearly eight years, John Coleman, who last season led the team back into the Football League after years in the footballing wilderness.

But this season the club are battling relegation and a small section of supporters have become critical of the manager.

Coleman said: "I found it quite amusing to be honest. Someone said it was like going back to the 1970s protest when someone dug up the pitch at Old Trafford.

"People are entitled to their opinion but I am disappointed with the way they did it. The problems we have with the pitch are well-documented and that just made it worse.

"I don't know what they hoped to achieve from it. If someone wants to come and tell me why they want me out they are quite welcome to do so.

"People are entitled to their opinions but I would rather they came and spoke to me directly than do something like this. I am very approachable.

"I think the time to worry is when chairman Eric Whalley feels like that."

The stunt has been condemned as "cowardly" and "not the actions of a true Accrington Stanley supporter" by the club, players and fans alike.

Captain Peter Cavanagh said: "I want to condemn whoever wrote that on the pitch.

"I think this shows the club in a bad light. There are ways and means of voicing displeasure to the manager or chairman and this was not the right way.

"All it does is throw an unwelcome spotlight on the club and make us look like a Sunday league team.

"We are all trying to pull together in the right direction and we want the fans to do so as well.

"Credit to the ground staff who had to cover up the graffiti and it wasn't apparent except to those in the know."

Chief executive Rob Heys questioned the loyalty of the culprit.

He said: "It's obviously not someone who has a great deal of affection for the club. It's someone who doesn't appreciate what John Coleman has done for us and how far we have come.

"It's not someone who has supported us for many years, travelling to the depths of non-league football.

"I think the true Stanley fans have to back John Coleman after what he's done for us.

"There are plenty of ways to get your point across to us, by letter or phone - we are very approachable - or through the Observer.

"To take to vandalising the pitch the night before a match is very cowardly really."

Fans have also rallied to Coleman's support on the Stanley website.

One said: "I think this is outrageous. What kind of 'fan', and I use the term loosely, comes into the ground overnight to vandalise the pitch?

"It wasn't so much what was written, more that someone saw fit to try and undo all the ground staff's hard work in getting the pitch ready.

"A life ban should be in order."

Another wrote: "Never has such an idiotic statement been uttered.

"If Coley left we would plummet through the leagues back to obscurity."