ACCRINGTON Stanley boss John Coleman has told his side to make themselves legends.

The Reds opened up a stunning 11-point gap at the top of the Conference table after their Sky televised 3-1 victory over second place Exeter City on Monday night.

And Coleman, who picked up the Conference Manager of the Month award for January for the second month running this week, knows his players are so close to making a name for themselves and helping to re-write Stanley's history books with a return to the League after a 44-year absence.

"We are trying to get something special here and I have told the players they are capable of making history if they want to," said the Reds boss.

"Whether they like it or not, I am not going overboard on this, but if we win the league they will be legends in Accrington and they deserve to be. But there is a long way to go and legends aren't made overnight."

New signing Andy Todd, from Burton, now has a chance to make a name for himself with the Reds while midfielder Anthony Barry won't be there if Stanley achieve their dream after his shock transfer move on Tuesday's deadline day.

The 19-year-old, a league ever-present this season, has signed for League One side Yeovil for an undisclosed fee.

"Me and the chairman (Eric Whalley) were thinking of going to Siberia for transfer deadline day," said Coleman after impressive performances from Gary Roberts and Ian Craney against Exeter led to fears someone might make a late swoop - although the club had no bids for the duo.

"But I am gutted about Anthony and find it hard to talk about it. He made his own decision and time will tell if it is the right one.

"Now I just want to concentrate on the players who are here.

"I have chased Andy for a while and I nearly signed him in the summer and only geography put him off. He wants to play football and he gives us another dimension. He is a winger, he works hard, he is not bad in the air and he scores goals. He will be a good addition and I think all the people who have raised their eyebrows at the move by saying he hasn't been playing for Burton, will be pleasantly surprised."

Nottingham-based Todd is a former Nottingham Forest trainee who has been at Scarborough and Hucknall among others and turns 27 this month. He works as a personal trainer but that won't be a problem says Coleman.

"He was tantamount to full-time at Burton so it should all work out," said the manager.

There is a worry that the departure of Barry, who has played every league game this season, could unsettle the strong team spirit the Reds have built up but the manager says that's not the case.

"It didn't look like the lads were unsettled in training this week," said the boss. "They are professional and these kind of things happen in football. It is just one of those things."

Stanley have strung together a staggering 12-game unbeaten league run - Grays put together 15 at the start of the campaign to equal the league record for an unbeaten start - and have scored in every game so far, a phenomenal achievement. There are now 16 league games left this season.

But the Reds take a break from the pressure of the Conference tomorrow as they face Worksop in the last 16 of the FA Trophy.

Todd isn't cup tied as he was on the bench when Conference North side Worksop actually saw off Burton in the last round and so he is likely to make his debut on Saturday.

"We have had them watched and they are a good side on their day. They come to the Interlink with nothing to lose," said the boss. "It would be wonderful to win the Conference title and the FA Trophy. It would be something special and I am not sure if any side has ever done both.

"I still have bad memories of when I was manager at Ashton and we got knocked out to a last minute goal by Dagenham in the quarter-finals. I really thought we could win it that year and I want to erase those."

Coleman, whose side will get £6000 for winning on Saturday, will have to do some tinkering with his side with the loss of Barry and left back Leam Richardson, who limped off at Exeter with a hamstring injury, is a doubt.

Steve Jagielka will undergo a minor operation on his knee which will keep him out for a couple of weeks while goalkeeper Danny Alcock is on stand-by just in case Rob Elliot is still suffering from the back complaint which hampered him against Exeter - although you wouldn't have known it.

Meanwhile, the boss is desperate not to get too carried away despite picking up 32 points out of the last 36.

"We have won nothing yet and you have got to remember that, less than three months ago, we were playing Grays and, if they beat us, they would have gone seven points clear at the top with a game in hand. Things can change quickly and if it can happen to them, it can happen to us.

"What we have to do is make sure we don't give anyone a sniff and we have to keep widening the gap so that eventually it will be too much for them to do. We have a few big games ahead of us and we have got to try and keep our feet on the ground."

And he is hoping the victory on Sky television will attract more people to watch Stanley - especially as they are on television again against Morecambe later this month.

"Conference games on Sky can sometimes be edgey as teams are scared of not giving a good account of themselves and I think for the first five or ten minutes both teams were at Exeter," added the boss.

"But anyone watching that, I am sure they would want to come again, would want to watch Conference football again and hopefully we can serve up another treat next time we are on."

  • FORMER Stanley keeper Jon Kennedy has signed for Halifax Town until the end of the season.

The 25-year-old, who made 47 Conference starts for Accrington between August 2003 and April 2005, has helped Town ease a keeper crisis.

Kennedy has signed from Witton Albion until the end of the season ending Chris Wilder's search for a permanent replacement for Ian Dunbavin.

"Jon knows what the Conference is all about and wants another chance to play at this level," said Wilder. "He is taking a chance by returning to full-time football, but he is coming here for the right reasons. Witton were good enough not to stand in his way."

  • IAN Craney and Gary Roberts should hear soon if they have made the final 16 of the England National XI side who will face Italy in the European Challenge Trophy clash at Cambridge City on February 15.
  • STANLEY travel to Burscough in the Lancashire FA United Co-op Challenge Cup quarter-final on Tuesday.