TRANMERE’S path to progress in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy at Accrington Stanley tonight is blocked by a couple of Scousers who deserve respect, manager Les Parry warns.
Parry rates Stanley counterpart John Coleman as “one of the finest achieving managers in the Football League” who has built a League Two team of quality from humble beginnings.
And he sees former Rovers midfielder Charlie Barnett as a typical Coleman signing: a player who is at home in the past and move team.
Parry said: “How John Coleman has not ended up in a bigger job I will never know because he has done miraculous work with Accrington.
“I know a little bit about the circumstances he works under. Other managers would go grey if they knew what he has to put up with.
“Accrington play football. The keeper likes to throw it to the back four and they play it from there. The criteria John sets for signing a player is that they have to be comfortable and confident on the ball, not fazed when opponents try to close them down. That makes them different to most League Two teams.”
Coleman, 49 this month, was a prolific goalscorer in non-League football in Merseyside and North West during his playing days and first moved into management at Ashton United.
Accrington were in the Northern Premier League first division when Coleman joined in 1999. He won three promotions to take Stanley into the Football League by 2006. He is currently the third longest serving manager of a League club behind Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger.
Barnett scored a fine winning goal in a 3-2 victory over Aldershot last weekend. He joined the Lancashire club after two season with Rovers.
Parry said: “We know what Charlie can do from his time here. He did really well for us in a wide midfield role towards the end of the 2008/09 season when we just missed out on getting to the play-offs.”
The manager plans to give Tranmere’s fringe players the opportunity to show they can add fresh zest to a goal-shy attack tonight.
Players such as Mustafa Tiryaki, the striker signed from non-League football in the summer, midfielder Joss Labadie, who has spent most of the season on the bench, and full-backs Zoumana Bakayogo and Michael Kay are likely to figure in the starting line-up.
Adding firepower to some solid performances is a priority for Rovers, who found the net just four times in the last six League One games. A goalless draw at home to Bournemouth last Saturday left them in 12th place in the table.
