ACCRINGTON Stanley's chief executive Rob Heys insists the record-breaking capture of Ian Craney epitomises the club's ambition to land promotion to League One.

A few eyebrows were raised when Stanley splashed out £85,000 to bring midfidler Craney back to the Fraser Eagle Stadium, with Rochdale manager Keith Hill among those surprised at Accrington's mini cash-spree.

The record-breaking fee may have been dwarfed somewhat by Stanley's opponents tonight, Peterborough United, who broke their own transfer record last week by forking out £400,000 for goalkeeper Joe Lewis.

But re-signing Craney represented a coup for the Reds, and Heys believes it has signalled the club's intent to earn a fourth promotion under boss John Coleman.

"Nobody wants to stand still and stay where they are," said Heys.

"We've had some great times over the last eight or nine years, with three championship wins, and you want to carry that on.

"Promotion would be nice, perhaps a trip out to Wembley in the play-offs. But we want to progress.

"Hopefully, the Craney signing has raised a few eyebrows, not just among other clubs, but with people on the street in Accrington.

"Yes, we made it into the Football League. But we want people to realise that we've got new targets, and the next target is to get promoted into League One.

"And there's a realistic chance that we are capable of doing it."

But Heys admits Stanley cannot match the likes of Peterborough or big-spending league leaders MK Dons in their pursuit of promotion.

Although the club chartered rare territory by smashing their record fee for Craney, the Reds chief executive treats it as more of a one-off.

Heys added: "There are clubs in this division that everyone knows who throw around a lot of money. That's fair enough.

"It's a free market and if they've got the money and backers to do that, then we can't go out and criticise anybody.

"Unfortunately, we haven't got loads of money to spend. So when we do spend our money, we've got to be mindful of doing it in the right areas.

"I don't think Accrington Stanley will ever be a club that will spend lots of money.

"We'll never spend more money than we can afford, we'll spend it to bring in players of Ian's quality.

"But the signing of Ian Craney is more of an exception than the norm."

Stanley's play-off hopes have took a dent in recent weeks, after picking up just one point from a possible nine in 2008.

Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Stockport County has left the Reds 10 points adrift of Wycombe in seventh place.

But ahead of tonight's clash at London Road, Heys has not given up hope that Coleman's men can stay in the play-off mix near the end of the season.

Heys added: "It was slightly disappointing at Stockport, and everyone feels down after a defeat.

"But if you can string together two or three wins, you are right back up there and looking at the play-offs.

"But there is a long way to go. We've only just got over the halfway mark for the season. We have to see what happens over the next 10 games."