JOHN Coleman believes Eric Whalley and Dave O’Neill deserve credit for their contributions at Accrington Stanley after both finally completed deals to hand over control of the club to Ilyas Khan.

Whalley ended his day-to-day involvement with Stanley in 2009 but still remained a major shareholder until the agreed deal for O’Neill to take over his stake was signed off this week.

O’Neill immediately passed the shares to Khan after signing on the dotted line over an agreed settlement. O’Neill, who took over as chairman from Whalley two years ago before becoming managing director, will step down as a director at the end of the season.

Coleman has worked with Whalley and O’Neill during his time as Stanley manager and has always stressed that everyone involved had the best interests of the club at heart.

“They both deserve a lot of credit,” he said.

“They put a lot of effort in and I think people don’t see that. It’s always hard while the club isn’t self-sufficient.”

The Reds host Northampton this afternoon, with Khan due to travel from his Surrey base for the match.

The shareholding passed on by Whalley and O’Neill has been transferred to Khan’s TW Indus company but a board meeting will take place after today’s game to discuss the planned move to put the shares into the hands of the fans.

A shareholders meeting is likely to take place in the near future, while the club’s outstanding tax bill is also now expected to be paid in the next few days.