WHEN Accrington face Dagenham tomorrow afternoon, there'll be more than the three points at stake.

Stanley have never lost at Victoria Road, or The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Council Stadium as it's now called, but also it's a battle of the last two winners of the Football Conference.

Stanley swept back in the Football League after 44 years of hurt at the end of the 2005/06 as they won the Conference by 11 points from their nearest rivals with Dagenham languishing in mid-table.

Last season, The Daggers sealed their passage into the League as they lifted the Conference trophy by a massive 14 points.

And the pair meet again tomorrow for only the seventh time ready to prove that they were the better Conference champion.

Coleman said: "Both teams will be trying to prove that they were the better winners of the Conference. We've got a team who I know, on their day, are capable of beating anybody and they will probably feel the same. That means we should get an open game."

And Coleman has an extra incentive to put one over the Essex boys.

The Stanley boss was part of the Ashton United side that lost in an FA Trophy quarter-final at Dagenham in 1997.

And it's something that Coleman has never forgot.

He said: "I've still got the emotional scars from that game. We've (Stanley) had a good run there but that counts for nothing now. We're playing them in the League, it's a fresh start for both sides and both teams will fancy their chances of winning."

It's a long haul at an unfamiliar time for the Reds, with the kick-off at 1pm, but despite the disruption to their normal preparations, Coleman's side generally have a knack of doing well on overnight stays.

"The last time we stayed over we beat Wycombe and hopefully we can carry that into tomorrow's game," Coleman said.

"But this won't be an easy game. They had a great result during the week (The Daggers beat Orient 1-0 in the Johnstone Paints Trophy) and they will be full of confidence. And the last time they played at home, they had a bad result and they will be looking to bounce back from that.

"But mostly they'll be looking to build on the euphoria they've had of coming into the League. They'll be carrying that through until Christmas and it's up to us to guard against that.

"We came good at probably this time last season and I'm sure they'll be thinking they can do the same.

"The one thing with the Conference is that a team that plays together will win the league.

"They did that so fair play to them. They swept everyone aside who was in front of them and they've got some good players, and some experienced - as Leyton Orient found to their cost - so they're no easy team to play against.

"But we've got to go there and try to be as frugal as were in our last away game at Bradford and hopefully we can be as successful as were at the other end.

"To win any game away from home in this league is tough and we've got to go there and do a professional job.

"After what happened against Wrexham, having spoken to them all, and speaking to them individually as well, they can't wait for the game."