We’ll challenge for promotion in this form: Coley
Last two results have been frustrating but Reds are playing well enough to keep up chase
JOHN Coleman will continue to assess his Stanley side based on form rather than results – and from what he’s seen there’s no reason why they can’t maintain a challenge for promotion to the Championship.
The Reds picked up just one point from two home games over the last week, with Northampton holding them to a goalless draw at the weekend and Plymouth pulling off a smash and grab raid in midweek, winning 1-0 despite a dominant Stanley display.
It meant the Reds missed out on taking a spot in the play-off places.
But with games in hand on most of the teams above them and just eight points dividing them and second-placed Hull, Coleman is confident his side can keep up the chase at the top of the table.
“I’ve been around football long enough to know that it’s not always your night,” Coleman said after the defeat against Plymouth. “What I can’t fault our lads for is they never stopped going from the first minute until the last. We made three chances in the last four minutes of injury time!
“If we play like that between now and the end of the season, if we can get that level of consistency – and you need a little bit of luck along the way, obviously – but if we keep playing like that, we’ve got a great chance of being promoted.
“I’ve always been a student of form, I’m never governed by results, I’m always governed by how the team plays and I couldn’t fault a player on Tuesday. There were numerous outstanding displays.
“Fair play to Plymouth, they got the goal and managed to keep us out. The pitch got really difficult towards the end but we still managed to play some excellent football and made chance after chance after chance. So what we’ve got to do is keep believing in ourselves and if we keep playing like that we will win games.
“I was proud of the players, it was probably the best we have played all season. We totally dominated a very good side.
“We were guilty of a mistake for the goal and then we’ve missed a procession of chances and hit the woodwork.
“But I’m proud of the players, they stuck at it – I don’t know whether Plymouth defended well or we just shot poorly because I think we must have had ten or twenty shots.
“They got the win and good luck to them, you saw the way they celebrated at the end, I think that was because they knew they were mightily fortunate to win the game.”
This weekend, the Reds travel to face league leaders Lincoln City and the manager is hoping for a better display from the match officials.
“We’ve a tough game on Saturday and we have to go again,” said Coleman.
“Plymouth’s goal was a mistake by us, but also by the referee and unfortunately referee’s mistakes have been costing us – the referee didn’t give us a penalty on Saturday. Against Plymouth there was a clear elbow on Paul Smyth, debatable whether it’s a red card but it’s certainly a foul – we don’t get the foul, he gives a drop ball, it gets kicked over our heads and they score.
“Unfortunately, the referee was a little bit whimsical in what he thought were fouls and what were not fouls.
“There’s no two ways about it, decisions are disproportionally going against us. It did last year and it has this year. Since we won the league it has every year.
“We’re at that stage now where we just have to get on with it. We don’t get away with the things that people get away with against us, we just don’t. It’s disappointing, but we’ve just got to play in spite of them. We still could have won the game against Plymouth regardless of how good or bad the referee was. We made enough chances to win four games.
“We end up talking about the referee, and it shouldn’t be about the referee tonight because we were fantastic and we didn’t get what we deserved, but that doesn’t mean if we carry on playing like that we won’t.”