BARELY a week goes by these days without Accrington Stanley being linked with a former Premiership footballer.

After trying to lure the former Burnley midfielder Kevin Ball to the Crown Ground, followed soon after by a bid to sign the former Rover Kevin Gallagher, it seems whenever a former League player becomes available it is Stanley who are after him.

This week, according to certain media reports, the Reds are chasing former Liverpool, Benfica and Blackburn Rovers defender Steve Harkness.

Reds boss John Coleman admitted he would be more than a little interested in the 31-year-old, who has recently left Chester City.

But the first he heard about it was in the Liverpol Echo!

"I didn't even know Steve had left Chester until I read in the Echo that we were about to sign him!" laughed the Reds chief.

"He is a good player and of course we want to sign good players.

"We haven't spoken to him but it is certainly something we might do now."

After recent attempts to sign former Premiership stars, the Reds seem to be linked with any one that now becomes available.

It is a sign of the progress the Reds have made in the past few years that they are being thought of as an attractive proposition to former professionals.

"Who knows where they got that story from," said Coleman. "But I think we are becoming an easy target for the media now to link us with anyone.

"People seem to think that the Brett Ormerod money (Stanley received around £250,000 when the former Reds striker moved from Blackpool to Southampton) has gone toward spending on players but that is not the case.

"We run a tight ship here, our outgoings are only as much as our income.

"But it can work both ways. You often find out about the availability of players by reading about it in the newspapers which can be a good thing."

Stanley have been flying high at the top of the UniBond Premier Division this season but their lead at the top has been cut to one after they lost their last two league games.

But the visit of Gateshead to the Crown Ground tonight offers them the chance to re-establish a four-point gap. Also in their favour is that they have played two games less than their nearest rivals Bradford Park Avenue.

"We need to bounce back results wise but not performance-wise because I thought we played very well against Barrow, we just didn't score enough goals!" said Coleman after the 1-0 defeat.

"We made chances and they would have gone in on another day. We conceded a sloppy goal as well.

"We did have an eight-point lead at one stage but of course that changes from week to week.

"We are just concentrating on ourselves because if we win our games it is up to other people to over take us. It's in our own hands and if we continue to play like we did on Saturday I am sure we will be in contention come the end of the season."

Striker Lutel James will serve the last of a three-game suspension tonight following his sending off against Colwyn Bay and Mike Marsh is still struggling with a thigh injury.

He will either be fit tonight or by next Wednesday at the latest, said Coleman.

The Reds do not have a game this weekend.

Tony Black will have a late fitness test after missing the Barrow game and Coleman hopes to have Dean Calcutt back after his suspension.