Coley’s step up to the plate call
ACCRINGTON Stanley manager John Coleman is trying to remain positive despite losing defender Mark Hughes for the rest of the campaign.
The centre-back was ruled out until the end of the season after suffering a calf injury, with Coleman instead relying on the likes of Harvey Rodgers, Callum Johnson and Ross Sykes in defence.
While it was a blow to lose Hughes, Coleman insists he will still have an influence, and has also backed those aforementioned players to step up to the plate over the coming weeks.
“The good thing about Mark is that he’s around the place and he’s not one of them who just won’t turn up, so he’ll be giving the lads advice and he’s a good character.
“He’s a really good lad as well but it is a blow to the team because he’s a good footballer and he’s probably the best ballplaying centre-half in the league, so we are going to miss him.
“People have to step up to the plate and Harvey Rodgers grew into the game when he was picked against Bolton. It was always going to be difficult for him because he hasn’t played as a centrehalf for a while.
“It was going to be tough and the conditions weren’t the best either, but I thought he stuck to the task well and he finished the game very strongly.
“I think at this moment it’s the players who have played the most games that are picked, Callum has played a lot of games and so has Ross.
“In terms of experience, they’ve had a lot of football behind them so they’ve now got to use that experience.
“I’ve seen Ross grow up in the last couple of years and the one thing I will say about Ross is that whatever he gets in life he’ll have worked hard for, and he lives his life as a model professional.
“He’s giving himself the best available chance and he’s an absolute credit to his family, he’s a smashing lad and he’s great to have around the place.
“Until we’re safe, you’ve always got to be mindful to get enough points on the board to make sure that you’re not in the fight.
“At this moment we are in a relegation battle and a lot of other teams are as well, so we’ve got to do everything we can to get out of this fight.”