AMBITIOUS Accrington Stanley manager John Coleman does not believe the two-year contract he has agreed is reward for taking the Reds back into the Football League.

Instead he feels the club are planning for the work that he has yet to do.

Coleman and his assistant, Jimmy Bell, have agreed a two-year deal - the first time either of them have worked under an official contract since taking charge of Stanley in 1999.

And he believes it is a statement of the club's intent after being promoted as Nationwide Conference champions just last month.

"We both wanted to stay at the club, and the club wanted us to stay, so negotiations were straightforward," Coleman said.

"We've always had an agreement with the chairman, so we've been more or less under contract anyway.

"I think he just wanted to make everything official.

"We haven't looked back since we took over seven years ago, but I think the two years the chairman has given us is not for what we've done in the bast but what we're going to do in the future."