ACCRINGTON Stanley benefactor Ilyas Khan has phoned John Coleman to ask him to stay with the club after Lincoln City put the Reds boss top of their wanted list – but the long-serving manager is still refusing to rule himself out.

Lincoln are without a manager after last week’s departure of former Blackburn Rovers striker Chris Sutton, and Stanley assistant boss Jimmy Bell previously told the Lancashire Telegraph that both he and Coleman were keen to talk to the Imps after waiting almost 12 months for their new three-and-a-half-year contracts to be finalised at the Crown Ground.

The pair are currently on a one-year rolling contract, although that was only a verbal agreement, and Coleman said: “You can’t ever rule anything out in football.

“It’s not a matter of waiting around for a contract, it’s a matter of doing what is best for us and our careers.

"But I don’t think anyone would feel secure in our current situation.

“Lincoln are a big club with big fanbase and they may be better off financially, but we have had no contact at all.

“I can’t govern what other clubs do.”

Lincoln are 16 positions below sixth-placed Stanley in League Two and it is understood they currently consider Coleman - 7/2 favourite for the job - as their number one choice on a four-man shortlist, which is also said to include Andy Tilson, Dave Penney and Jim Gannon.

The Imps have made no approach to Coleman yet but they are due to hold a board meeting tomorrow and may make a move after that.

Lincoln chairman Bob Dorrian has said he would have no issue paying compensation for a manager in work, although the Stanley duo are currently only tied down by a gentleman’s agreement.

Terms have already been agreed on a new deal and Coleman has insisted for some months that he is just waiting for managing director Dave O’Neill or chief executive Rob Heys to put the document in front of him to sign.

The duo have been in charge of Stanley since 1999, guiding the Reds from the UniBond First Division to the Football League and remarkably improving the club’s league position during each season at the helm, and Coleman dropped a hint that it would take a lot to prise him away from the club.

“Myself and Jimmy have been here for 12 years and they have been 12 happy years, so you can draw your own conclusions from that,” he said.

But Khan, who became Stanley’s non-executive chairman when his money saved the club from extinction last November, has grown concerned enough about the situation to phone Coleman and urge the manager not to consider leaving.

The multi-millionaire, who is not involved day to day but has promised to bankroll Stanley for as long as necessary, was the first to publicly propose the long-term contracts at the end of last year but is currently in dispute with O’Neill over the future direction of the club - with the managing director determined not to rely on Khan’s cash.

“The fact that the contracts are not sorted is shameful,” said Khan, who is based in Surrey.

“You could talk about Ferguson or Wenger but I don’t see anyone who has served their football club better than John.

“He has done an incredible job, and I phoned him and asked him to please bear with us while the management come to their senses.

“For whatever reason, and I don’t know what it is, Dave and Rob have not signed the contracts.

“All I can do is appeal to Dave and Rob. I can but sit and watch.”