John Coleman hopes the big crowd at Portsmouth will help Stanley thrive as they look to push up the League Two table.

Coleman’s teams historically tend to be stronger in the second half of the season so he knows, if they get themselves into a good position by the end of December, they can make a charge for the top seven.

And the Reds boss expects to see tomorrow’s opponents Pompey, who are level on points with the 13th placed Reds, up there challenging with them.

“For the size of Portsmouth and the support they have, they are a bit like Bradford to a certain extent, they shouldn’t be in League Two,” said Coleman.

“But they are and they have got to compete in League Two although eventually I expect them to climb the tables and climb the leagues.

“But while they are here we have got to try to bloody their noses, we did it to Bradford on a couple of occasions when we went there.

“Our players tend to respond to playing in front of a big crowd and it’s a chance for them to play in front of 10,000 plus and it puts them on the big stage.”

A win would be massive for Stanley as they look to close the gap between themselves and seventh placed Newport, who are five points ahead of them.

“We have got to try and get ourselves into a position by the start of the new year where we can go on a spurt which takes us into the play-offs and keeps us there.

“We usually have a great end to the season and we have got to get into a position where a great end to the season gets us the success we want.”