Come on you Reds! We are calling on all of the borough to get behind Accrington Stanley as the club enters one of the most important periods of its history.
Manager John Coleman and his boys are battling to win promotion to the third tier of English Football for the first time since the late 1950s.
And with crunch games coming up, some of the borough’s best-known figures have been urging the team on to glory.
The Reds are hoping to clinch a place in the play offs – or even an automatic promotion spot. They are currently in eighth place, five points off an automatic promotion spot and outside the play off places by goal difference.
Eric Bolton, 90, is one of Accrington’s longest serving fans having watched them for 82 years.
He said: "I started watching them when I was eight and this would be one of the best things if they got promoted. It would be marvellous for the club, the fans and the town.
"The manager has done a fantastic job with no money and it would be good to get into division one where there are quite a few big teams.
"There’s a chance we could even play Preston next season."
Mayor Malcolm Pritchard said: "The profile would be tremendous for Accrington if they go up. What a fantastic achievement coming from nowhere to being a first division club and for John Coleman and his assistant Jimmy Bell.
"What a credit to them with no money they can do something like that. All I can say is good luck lads, lets get there and lets show them what we can do."
Neil McGuinness, chairman of Accrington Stanley Official Supporters Club, said: "The football we have played this season has been absolutely sublime.
"Against the backdrop of new ownership everyone at the club, the manager, the players, the supporters, people behind the scenes have done a great job.
"It would be fantastic for the area if we were to be promoted this season and hopefully we will have a fairytale ending."
Jack Barrett, a founder member of Accrington Stanley, is credited with saving and re-forming the club as it faced extinction in 1968 after delivering a stirring speech.
He said: "If they were to get promoted it would be the best thing that's happened to the club. They are playing extremely well this season and playing their hearts out.
"I always wanted to see them get promoted but sometimes you have to wait a long time for that to happen. I hope this season the wait will be over."
Council leader Peter Britcliffe said: "It would be a massive boost for the town and it’s up to the fans now to rally round and roar them on as they make their final push."
Labour council leader Miles Parkinson said: "In anything whether its business or football when it becomes a success it makes the borough feel good about itself."
Hyndburn MP Graham Jones said: "They are a club that are recognised worldwide and success would put Accrington on the map. Let's hope they can do it."
Club associate director Geoff Heap said: "I think it would be very good for the club and the town.
"They have had a really good season and you can't fault them or the manager.
"I think it would be a dream for them to get promoted as they haven't been there for so long."
Leave your messages of support to the team by submitting them below, email them to accringtonobserver@menmedia.co.uk or post them to us at The Accrington Observer, Mitchell Henry House, Chadderton, Oldham, OL1 8EF.
