COLEMAN IS RESIGNED TO REBUILDING JOB AT ACCY
A CANDID John Coleman admitted the first objective is avoiding relegation next season as Accrington prepare for the break-up of the squad’s backbone.
Josh Windass, whose penalty on Wednesday made it 17 goals for the season, and fellow midfielder Matt Crooks have already been swept up by Glasgow Rangers.
But Coleman hinted that several more key men are set to leave the Wham Stadium after a season in which they missed out on automatic promotion via goal difference had ended on another sour note.
“We’ve got to assemble a good squad of players for next season and try to compete, but the first mission is not to get relegated,” Coleman said.
“I can’t keep all the squad together because I’ve lost two already. And, by the looks of it, I’ll lose two or three more. But I’ve still got the thrill of planning for (next season) and that’s what I’ll do.
“It will be a lot different next year because teams will be wise to us.We won’t be the surprise package any more.”
Accy had it all in their own hands a fortnight ago, but a goal-less draw against a Stevenage side with nothing to play for set them up for play-off heartbreak.
Promotion would have heralded a first appearance in the third tier of English football since their reformation in the 1960s.
For a club that usually struggles to get 2,000 fans through the gates each week, it would have been no mean feat.
The biggest difference on the night, according to Coleman, is that the pitch – which was battered by the elements over the winter – did not do his side any favours.
“It’s very difficult to play a passing game on a pitch like that,” Coleman added. “We’ve had a little bit of help from the rain, but the pitch is still as bobbly as anything and it’s very difficult to pass on.
“Wimbledon just rely on kicking it long and they’re good at what they do.
“You’ve got to take your hat off to them, but I sometimes wish the play-offs were in January.
“We had the game won at 2-0.Then, they went to three up front and that suited us.
“If we’d just been a bit more composed on the ball and not had a couple of errors in defence.
“I thought we’d eradicated that because we’ve been defending unbelievably well for the last ten or 12 games, but the old problems came back to haunt us.”