John Coleman feels all the players in his squad have a role to play as Stanley look to keep up their position in the promotion mix in League Two.

The Reds boss has made consistent selections in his starting eleven of late and that’s coincided with a five match unbeaten run.

But with experienced campaigners like Andy Procter, Anthony Barry and Terry Gornell on the bench alongside emerging talent like Shay McCartan and Liam Wakefield at Cambridge at the weekend, the manager admitted he’s a bit spoiled for choice.

“I was speaking to a chap who is a Preston fan and comes to watch us when Preston are away and one of the things he said to me was that we’ve never had this kind of strength on our bench,” he revealed.

“He’s probably right. We’re lucky in the fact that we have experienced pros and they are rallying behind the lads when they aren’t playing rather than letting it affect them. I think the other lads appreciate that.

“They are really important for the spirit of the camp and we need players ready and available for the first team at the drop of a hat and that’s what we have. At the moment it’s all going alright but we’ll have to see what happens when we face some adversity which I’m sure we will before the end of the season.”

The Reds are fourth ahead of tonight’s game with Hartlepool United at the Wham Stadium and just two points from the automatic promotion places.

Coleman hopes supporters can turn out and ideally bring some friends to help his team pick up a fifth victory in six games.

“We need a vocal support, we need vociferous supporters and to make this a cauldron,” he said. “The style of football we’re playing is conducive to doing that because you can quickly put teams on the back foot if the crowd can respond to the way we’re playing.”