VETERAN striker Paul Mullin is convinced that Stanley can put a turbulent summer behind them and concentrate on making a splash in League Two.
The club are keen to get on with league action and kick off at promotion favourites Rotherham tomorrow - followed by a Carling Cup home game against League One side Walsall on Tuesday (7.45pm) - after a difficult close season, which saw them face, and survive, a winding-up order.
But, with new owner Dave O’Neill at the helm and joint-chairperson Marcelle Lazarus in the boardroom, Mullin believes that Stanley are ready to focus their attention on the pitch and make progress after three season’s battling relegation.
Mullin said: "It is difficult sometimes when you’re reading things in the papers. You do start to worry, because it is our livelihoods after all.
"But we’re assured that everything’s fine now behind the scenes and that there’s a plan in action with regards to the revenue.
"And we’ve been told that there are plans for the future in terms of bringing in more corporate revenue and trying to get more people in through the turnstiles as well.
"We hope that will help boost the coffers and that will enable the manager to bring in better players."
Mullin, who is still on the transfer list at the cash-strapped club, is about to start his 10th season at the Crown Ground, a period which has seen the club rise from the UniBond League to the Football League under the guidance of boss John Coleman and previous chairman Eric Whalley.
But the 35-year-old, who spent a few months on loan at Bradford last term, is now in the final year of his contract - and is aware that this could be his last season with Stanley.
He said: "Who knows what’s going to happen? I’m feeling fit at the moment, and I’m feeling strong.
"I know it’s a cliche, but I just want to take each game as it comes. That’s all I can do really. And if I have a good season, then I might earn another contract.
"I’ll just have to see how it goes, but I’m concentrating on doing as well as I can this year for Accrington, on staying fit and hopefully helping the team get into the top half of League Two."
Coleman is still trying to boost his attack as Stanley prepare to kick off their League Two campaign. And Mullin believes the squad is looking strong.
He added: "There are some good players. We’ve got a nice blend of experience, and we’ve got quite a lot of promising young players as well.
"Time will tell when we get into the league programme how we cope with it, but from looking at the pre-season games and how we fare on a day-to-day basis in training, there’s a lot of ability in the squad.
"Hopefully we can translate that into performances on the pitch. But it is a tough division, League Two. It’s a physical league. We’ve got to cope with that first of all, and then hope our footballing abilities will shine through, because we have got some good football players in this squad."
Mullin is raring to go himself too following his stint at Bradford. He did not score in seven matches for the Bantams as they missed the play-offs by two points, but found the experience invaluable.
He said: "Maybe I learned a little bit about myself. It took me out of my comfort zone, because obviously I’d been here a long time, so I didn’t know how I was going to react to that.
"And I was pleased with my performances at Bradford. The goals didn’t come, but I know I can handle that sort of stage, and that’s good to know.
"It was good to go there and experience a different type of club. I’s a massive club, Bradford, for League Two.
"Comparing it with Accrington - the crowds, the facilities and everything - it was nice to experience that.
"Accrington were safe when I left as well and didn’t really have anything left to play for, so there was something to go for in terms of the play-offs when I went there as well.
"So it was a nice experience playing in front of a crowd that expected an awful lot and the top end of the division. But it’s good to be back, and I’m looking forward to giving it a good go with Accrington this year.
"I’ve got 12 months left on my contract at Accrington. I’m completely focused on helping the team do as well as we can.
"We’ve been in the league now for three years, and although some of the run-ins have been a little bit tight in the past, we’re an established league club.
"We need to try to push on and set our goals a little bit higher than perhaps we have done in the past. And I certainly don’t think a top-half finish is beyond us."
* STANLEY are in the North West section of the draw for the Johnstone’s Paints Trophy which will be made a week tomorrow on Soccer AM. They will face either Bury, Carlisle, Crewe, Morecambe, Oldham, Stockport or Walsall in the first round which will be played week starting 31 August.
* STANLEY have appointed Martin Edmundson as their new Commercial Sales and Marketing Executive. His job is to re-establish the club’s community links and increase the revenue streams into the club.
