KEVIN Ball has played in an FA Cup Final, led teams to promotion and played in over 600 professional games.

Now he is considering a new challenge - helping Accrington Stanley's drive for the Conference.

"I am seriously considering the offer and I have promised them a decision in the next couple of days," he said.

Ball, who will be 38 next month, was arguably the most interested spectator among the 1,488 fans at the Crown Ground last night as Stanley beat UniBond Premier Division title rivals 4-2.

He left impressed not just by the fightback from 2-0 down but by the whole set up and by what manager John Coleman and chairman Eric Whalley had to say to him.

And, having been released by Burnley in the summer, he explained it was former Clarets team mate who had contacted him about the possibility of a return to East Lancashire.

"Paul Cook rang me to see what I was doing at the moment and he is a good mate of the manager here," he said.

"I have a lot of time for Cooky and with any club that has shown an interest in me I have gone to see them and that is why I came down.

"I have spoken to John and I know what his aims are and you can see this is an ambitious club but I have got to consider a number of things.

"It would obviously be a massive, massive change for me as I played 43 games near the top of the first division last season.

"I have to know the move would be right and I would want to do myself justice.

"To be honest it really would be a whole different ball game.

"Also I need to consider the travelling side of it. I live up near Sunderland and it is a big consideration because for the last three years I have had a lot of time away from home at Fulham and then Burnley."

It was the collapse of ITV Digital that saw Ball released by the Stan Ternent in the summer and he admitted: "When I left Burnley it took the wind right out of my sails.

"I had hoped to get another year and I though I would stay."

"I have spoken to a lot of clubs like Brighton, Blackpool, Darlington, Oxford and Carlisle but nothing has happened so I have spent a lot of time in my garden.

"It looks great but it did give me a bit of a back problem but that is fine now and I have been keeping myself fit. It would probably take a couple of weeks to get fully right but I am naturally fit.

"It has been funny not being involved on a Saturday but I have been to see Sunderland in all their home games. That said, I do want to keep playing and Accrington might give me the chance to do that."

Coleman is certainly thrilled at the prospect of adding the massive experience of Ball to his table-topping squad.

"I think he'd like to come and I know he is the type of lad who would come here and be desperate to do well," he said.

"We understand the travelling might be difficult for him but we will do all we can to help. If he does come, it would be unbelievable."