Next Accrington Stanley Manager Odds: Four candidates to replace John Coleman

Accrington Stanley have parted company with John Coleman, a manager who led the club in four separate decades across two spells, in a shock decision from owner Andy Holt that has angered many locals, especially with regards to the handling of the dismissal.

EFL pundit Gab Sutton discusses the situation and puts forward four contenders from the next Accrington Stanley manager market.

Before we delve into possible candidates, it’s important to dissect the state of play as things are.

Most obviously, it was appalling treatment of Coleman and his assistant, Jimmy Bell, from Holt, to not only sack him but do so before the end of the season, with a mere two paragraphs in the initial statement.

Clearly, Holt had his differences with the managerial duo, and there’s no problem with that at all.

The Stanley owner was entitled to not hand them new contracts - after relegation last season - and Coleman and Bell, perhaps especially the latter, were entitled to feel disappointed at the lack of transparency regarding the long-term picture.

When Bell did an interview with BBC Radio Lancashire in October calling for clarity over his and Coleman’s future, it angered Holt, as his Twitter exploits showed.

Was Bell correct to take that course of action? Debateable. Unprofessional, perhaps. At the same time, it was easy to see the humanity in the interview of somebody who has a family to feed and has been put in an uncertain position – some might say this should come with the territory of management, but then again this is Accrington Stanley, and they are club icons.

If football isn’t about rewarding people who have made history with your club across nearly a quarter of a century’s service, then what’s the purpose of it? It all feels a little cold and mechanical.

Holt is perfectly within his rights to have differences with Coleman and Bell, and even to plan a future for Accrington Stanley without them if he sees fit.

However, he’s also allowed his differences with the pair to get in the way of their legacy at Stanley, and that is completely wrong.

The way the duo have left creates an uneasy environment, much though the Stanley Ultras in the Clayton End will get behind interim boss John Doolan, and whoever steps in permanently.

Until the duo return one day for perhaps one final hurrah, there will always be that nagging sense of injustice, that the way they should have said goodbye to Coleman and Bell hasn’t happened, and it’s all because of Holt.

Of course, Holt has been part of the club’s incredible successes too, since taking control in 2015, and his sustainable running of the club and investment in infrastructure has been huge, while the Coley’s bar will do a lot for the club over the next few decades in terms of raising external sources of revenue.

It may be that part of Holt’s frustration that has contributed to this decision, is feeling aggrieved at him being the one putting the time, effort, and money into the club, and Coleman and Bell being the revered figures – yet ultimately, that’s the deal that he signed up for as an owner.

Something over the last year or so has felt, from an outside perspective, colder with Holt than perhaps we had come to recognise, with maybe the social media pressure, personal conflict, and the general stresses of the job all coming to a head.

Another unfortunate side-effect of this situation, though, is that it puts the next manager in a difficult position, having to make an impact on a fanbase who are not completely over the previous one – you don’t get into a healthy new relationship very soon after being heartbroken, and that’s how it feels.

Suffice to say, the next manager will need to have something about them…

1. John Doolan

From this position, John Doolan until the end of the season makes sense.

The fanbase may not quite have the emotional bandwidth right now to welcome somebody new into their lives, so a familiar face might not be the worst idea for the moment.

Doolan was credited for doing a lot of good work on the grass, with Bell, while Coleman directed the operation from a more distanced perspective, so the practical day-to-day change isn’t enormous, and minimising change as much as possible at this point is probably a good thing.

Appointing Doolan also gives Accy an opportunity to promote academy manager Duncan Fearnhead to the first-team staff, plus possibly Lee Camp or Luke Morgan, Professional Development Phase Lead Coaches, which could be helpful with such a youthful squad.

If Doolan proves he can get a tune out of this side, then he may earn himself the right to lead them into next season.

2. Sean McConville

Sean McConville has always been such a vocal character at Accrington Stanley, and even when injured he’s wanted to make his mark around the place.

When Coleman was manager, he spoke openly about the possibility of McConville succeeding him one day, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him come into the coaching staff.

The advantage McConville would have, if given the number one job, is that he is a club legend, and wouldn’t risk being seen as that step-father figure that an outsider might.

However, there’s no evidence that McConville’s skillset as a player will translate to management, so giving him the manager’s job before he’s even coached might feel like a big risk.

3. Mark Bonner

Mark Bonner was extremely successful in his first stint as manager at Cambridge, leading the U’s to promotion from League Two in 2020-21, a midtable League One finish in their first season up, and survival in 2022-23.

The 38-year-old’s main strength is that he’s a cool, calm communicator, who stays authentically himself even in times of pressure.

Bonner’s record surely makes him an attractive proposition for any club looking to thrive against the odds, which Stanley will have to do once again next season.

4. Gareth Ainsworth

Talking of thriving against the odds, you won’t find many who have done that to a greater extent than Gareth Ainsworth in the EFL over the last 10 years – other than John Coleman, of course.

It’s important that the next manager has a big personality, and can go in and lift the club at a time of unease, and Ainsworth can do that – he’s a beaming force of positivity, and one of the best motivators in the game.

There’s always been respect between Ainsworth and Accrington Stanley – he clapped them off the pitch at Adams Park and shook everyone’s hand to congratulate them on promotion, after they won 4-0 at a Wycombe side who could themselves have gone up that day – in April 2018.

Having grown up in Billington, a 15-minute drive away from Accrington, he’s grown up in the same parts of the country as fans, which isn’t everything but it could add to the connection.

Ainsworth has managed in the Championship this season, so some would say he wouldn’t want to drop down to League Two after all he’s achieved.

At the same time, the lower echelons of the EFL may suit him, both from a stylistic perspective, having been arguably found wanting at Championship level from a tactical and technical perspective, but also in terms of control.

Coleman had a lot of operational autonomy at Accrington Stanley, which is exactly the way of working that Ainsworth likes – and given how the modern game is evolving, he may have to drop down to a lower level to get that.