John Coleman

John Coleman returned to Accrington Stanley as manager on September 18, 2014. In his first spell he was in charge for 13 years from 1999-2012, taking them from the Northern Premier League First Division back into the Football League and reaching the League Two play-offs in 2010/11. At the time of his departure in 2012, Coleman was the third longest serving manager in English football and was the longest servant in the Football League. Remarkably, he also had the unique record of improving their league finish every season (apart from one when he maintained the position) after he took charge in '99. He was Stanley's longest serving manager in their history as well as their most successful ever boss, winning three Championships and five cup competitions. Coleman's successes started by winning the Northern Premier League Division One in 1999/00 and the Northern Premier League in 2002/03. He was then voted The Conference Manager of the season after leading Stanley to the league title in 2005/06. After gaining promotion to the Football League in 2006, Coleman helped to establish the side in League Two. In 2010/11, he guided the club to play-offs (their highest ever finish), where they narrowly missed on a place in the final to eventual winners Stevenage. John joined Rochdale during the 2011/12 season and remained with the club until January 2013. He then took charge of Southport and Sligo Rovers before his return to Accrington in September 2014. Back at Stanley he engineered another promotion, to League One, in 2018.