John Coleman has alleviated fans’ concerns over the fitness of Accrington Stanley star Jack Nolan amongst others ahead of their game against Bradford City.
Nolan was substituted in the dying moments of the Lancashire side’s home loss to Nottingham Forest’s Under 21’s in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday night. Moments earlier the 22-year-old missed a chance to equalise from the spot and was hooked by Coleman with a suspected hamstring injury.
Speaking to club media ahead of their League Two trip to Valley Parade tomorrow, the Stanley gaffer was reassuring that the winger’s substitution was just a precaution. He said: “I think it’s just cramp. We had a feeling it was anyway, so it was better if he come off.”
The 61-year-old also provided updates on other injuries and believes that one player will be available against the Bantams. Asked about Rosaire Longelo, he continued: “I hope so. We’ll have to do a head count on Friday and see where they’re at. With the likes of Ros and Tommy [Leigh], I don’t think it was too serious, so hopefully they’ll be available for the game.
“Shaun Whalley has been responding to treatment, some of the testing that he’s done and he’s done a little bit of running. He feels fine so hopefully he’ll train today and we’ll have a better idea.”
Accrington Stanley‘s form has been positive over the past few months but suffered from a couple of slip-ups against Colchester United and Crawley Town over the past few weeks.
Their last game saw a convincing 2-0 win over Wrexham in a fixture that made headlines for events off the pitch rather than what happened at the Wham Stadium. Goals from Leigh and Longelo secured all three points for Stanley, who occupy the last of the play-off spots ahead of kick-off in League Two tomorrow.
They face a Bradford City side still trying to find their feet under new boss Graham Alexander. Despite two losses in the league, his side have found form in the EFL Trophy, with a 5-1 battering of League One Barnsley at home on Tuesday night.
Previewing the upcoming clash, Coleman stated: “I was fortunate enough to watch a lot of the game [Bradford v Notts County] as it was live before our game. You can see the problems that they have had, and you can see the shoots of recovery with their second-half performance.
“We generally have a good record there. What I do know is our travelling fans will make themselves heard which is testament to how good they are and we want to reward that.”
Writer’s View
Accrington should be confident going into Saturday’s fixture. They work hard and grind to get a result, as seen through the second half of last week’s Wrexham win. Bradford have conceded very early in their last two league games, so an early goal could put them in good stead for the rest of the game. The Valley Parade crowd do get impatient when things do not go their way, so the path to victory might be a fast-paced start with early control of the ball.
Their injury news offers great signs for the upcoming weeks, with Rosaire Longelo and Tommy Leigh looking to be able to start at the weekend. Two starters back in the side strengthen their confidence and more importantly depth coming into a quick run of fixtures around Christmas. Shaun Whalley beginning training means that only Joe Pritchard will be missing from one of the division’s stronger attacking lines.
