Stanley Youth manager John Townson praised the character of his side after they made it a record four wins out of four against Blackpool on Saturday morning.

The 2-1 victory means this is the best run of form for any Stanley under 18’s side since the club returned to the Football League set-up in 2006.

Considering the reasons for his side’s change in fortunes Townson said: “I think the biggest difference was basically a change of style in terms of coaching, management and the way we play.”

Having taken over a struggling Stanley in November Townson knew he had a lot of work to do: “We came in right in the middle of the season so I looked at the first five games as pre-season friendlies, where normally you’d be trying to implement new things and have a little bit of time to tinker. I always knew it would come but it just took a little while.”

Nathan Webb got Stanley off to a great start on Saturday, finding the net after just two minutes to his manager’s delight: “That’s something we’ve banged on about since day one; if you can get off to a good start the momentum can carry you through the rest of the game. It was a cracking goal from Webby and that’s two in two now.”

Blackpool equalised soon after but it’s the way Stanley reacted to this that the boss is proud of: “Unfortunately it’s not the first time this season we have conceded straight after scoring ourselves. We will work on that but again they dug deep and pulled it out of the bag. You can’t question the character of the lads.”

Townson is a big believer in meritocracy, citing the examples of goalkeeper Chris Evans, who came in three games ago and looks confident, and Keenan Quansah, who looks assured in his new centre back role.

This isn’t a chance to rest on their laurels though claims Townson: “The challenge is to keep it going, we cannot settle on this.”

Stanley face Morecambe on Saturday morning before welcoming Oldham for the semi-final of the Youth Alliance Cup on the 24th.