GARY Williams is hoping the bumper crowd expected at the Crown Ground tomorrow will get behind him when Stanley take on UniBond Premier League leaders Burton Albion.

The 22-year-old striker has come off the transfer list and could be on the bench as the Reds aim to topple the pacesetters as they make their own bid for a place in the Conference next season.

Stanley do trail Nigel Clough's side by 12 points but have a game in hand and are currently on an unbeaten run of 12 games.

A huge crowd is expected at the Crown Ground - and Williams hopes they support him.

"I don't know what kind of reception I will get but I haven't got to worry about it," he said.

"I hope it is a good one but, if I do get a bad reaction, I can't let it affect me and I have just got to get on with my game. As long as the club support me and the manager wants me to play then I will do my best."

Williams, Stanley's record buy at around £25,000, put his name on the transfer list earlier this season after returning to the Crown Ground last term.

The frontman had been sold by the Reds to Doncaster for £60,000 but things didn't work out and he came back hoping to make a similar impact.

He struggled with fitness last season, went to America during the summer and then, at the start of the season, decided to put himself in the shop window.

He has been on trial at Conference sides Southport and Chester but now just wants to prove himself at Stanley.

"Going on the transfer list was all about personal ambition. I think some people took it the wrong way but it was all about me trying to prove to myself that I could play at a higher level.

"When I came back from America I was fit again, I think I scored three in the first four games, I was getting back to what I was when Doncaster came in for me.

"That was when I decided to go on the transfer list. It was for personal ambition. I was confident I could play at a higher level and I wanted to push myself. I think some of what I said has been taken out of context.

"I enjoyed myself at Chester, but it didn't work out.

"They are having a few financial troubles, have placed eight players on the transfer list and signed a centre half.

"That is the way it goes sometimes and now I have decided I want to settle down and do my best for Stanley.

"I know I won't walk into a place because the team is doing well but I just want the chance to play regularly at centre forward, score a few goals, and do the best I can at Accrington."

Reds boss John Coleman is delighted at the turn around in his one-time star striker.

"The lad wants to play football, he has not had the best of times on loan, and we are glad he is back here challenging for a place," said the Reds chief.

"He is going to have a difficult time forcing his way back into the team but he is going to work at it.

"He is lacking a bit of match fitness but we are glad he is back. We want a settled squad, not people on the transfer list, for the benefit of the players and the club. Now it is up to him."

Williams will face tough competition as, although former Bury frontman Lutel James is suspended for tomorrow's clash, Simon Carden is the man of the moment.

The midfielder - who can be pushed up front - has scored ten goals in the last seven games.

"He has scored ten goals in the five games he has played up front but he can score goals from anywhere on the field," said Coleman.

"At the start of the season they weren't going in for him but Simon never lets his head go down. He has a good attitude and he keeps putting himself in the right positions. Now they have started going in for him."

While Carden may be getting the headlines, Coleman is keen to point out that an 'unsung hero' is Steve Hollis.

"He usually plays on the left side but has come into the centre of defence in the last few games and has been outstanding. I think having him and Barrie Hart as left sided players in defence has helped the balance of the team."

Now it's Burton and although they have gone two games without a league win - a blip for them having lost just two games all season - Coleman knows there is no right time to play a team.

"It doesn't matter. It is swings and roundabouts. You have just got to get on with it. They pass the ball about a bit and are a good side with strength in depth but so are we."

"Where we are falling down at the moment is when we lose our way, especially after we have scored.

"We give the ball away and then we are made to pay for it. We need to keep possession more.

"We are still not quite there but we are not a long way off."

And now it is the big examination of his players tomorrow. "It is a big test for us to see how far we have come since we last played them."

That was a 3-1 win for Burton in mid October - and Stanley have only lost once in the league since.

STANLEY travel to struggling Bamber Bridge on Boxing Day.