Accrington Stanley travel to Rodney Parade on Tuesday night (27 Jan) to face Newport County in a big League Two meeting.
Here is a look at our opponents and what to expect...
The History
The Accrington Stanley that exists today was only formed in 1968, but the club’s history stretches all the way back to 1891.
Records suggest the club got its name when a merger between two teams took place, one of which represented ‘The Stanley Arms’ pub – Accrington F.C. were founder members of the Football League, and went into consolidation with ‘Stanley Villa’ taking their place.
The club spent over 40 years bobbing between the third and fourth tiers, but bad news came around the corner: by 1962, the club found itself in debt, and had to resign from the Football League altogether.
After spending four seasons in the Lancashire Combination leagues, the original club disbanded in 1965-66. A chance meeting at a working men’s club in 1968 led to the birth of the new Accrington Stanley, who took off in 1970 playing at the Crown Ground, their original home being Peel Park.
From there, the club toiled away in the northern non-league wilderness, before capturing the public’s attention in 1989 when the Milk Marketing Board released an advertisement referencing their lowly status. Overnight, “Accrington Stanley, who are they?” became a phrase indelibly associated with the club.
What they were was ambitious: promoted to the Conference in 2003 and reaching the Football League by 2006, all under the leadership of John Coleman (who spent a combined 23 years as manager in two spells). They even knocked Nottingham Forest out of the EFL Cup in their first season as a member club.
They narrowly missed out on promotion in 2011, losing the playoff semi-final to Stevenage, but finished as League Two champions in 2017-18. The club sustained itself amongst some enormous teams in League One, but their time in the third-tier ran out in 2023.
The Form
After Newport won at the Crown Ground in October, Accrington had picked up just two wins from their opening 12 league matches.
Since then, their results have perked up significantly, with the highlight being a three-game winning run at the end of 2025.
Crucially, they have picked up the points against teams who are also struggling: Harrogate Town, Barrow and Bristol Rovers have all been beaten in the past two months.
Whilst the play-offs are certainly an ambitious aim, the club are now closer to the top six than they are to the bottom two.
2026 has so far brought a win, a loss and a draw, with an impressive stalemate at promotion hopefuls Walsall on Saturday boosting their confidence ahead of this one.
The Manager
Replacing club legend John Coleman was never going to be an easy task, but John Doolan has the pedigree for it.
Doolan, who represented Wigan Athletic 38 times in the mid-1990s, worked with Wigan, Hibernianand Fleetwood in a coaching capacity before joining Stanley in 2017, just in time for their promotion from League Two.
Since taking over, he led the club to safety in 2024-25, and has started to pick up speed in 2026 by making Stanley into a solid outfit at both ends of the pitch, leaving them looking up rather than down.
The 57-year-old has also previously worked with both Liverpool and Everton’s Academy sides, and was responsible for Stanley’s 5-0 dismantling of County last March.
The Captain
When it comes to modern Accrington icons, rivalling John Coleman is the long-serving Seamus Conneely.
Originally born in Lambeth, Conneely walked across the Irish Sea to spend time in the county of Connemara, bursting through at Galway United in 2008.
After a move to Sheffield United in 2011, a move back to Ireland with Sligo Rovers brought a league title in his first season with the club. His manager was the aforementioned Coleman, who brought him to Lancashire in January 2015.
Since then, Conneely has been integral to Stanley’s recent success, now celebrating over a decade at the club with over 300 appearances. Despite the club announcing he would depart at the end of last season, he signed a one-year contract extension in July.
A former youth international at under-21 level, Conneely’s blend of tenacious midfielder and staunch defender has led to him leading the side as captain for nine years.
The Ones to Watch
Goals have sometimes been hard to come by for Accrington, but top scorer Paddy Madden is a proven quantity at this level.
On-loan from Chesterfield – who lost at Rodney Parade on Saturday – the Dubliner has netted over 200 times throughout his professional career, including 13 in the Championship with Yeovil Town.
He already has six to his name this season, and has EFL experience with Carlisle, Scunthorpe, Fleetwood and Stockport.
Another evergreen presence is Shaun Whalley, now 38-years-old but a year on from being named Player of the Month in League Two last January, scoring four goals in five matches. This is Whalley’s third spell at the club, with his seven years at Shrewsbury Town making him a familiar figure on the wings.
Isaac Heath brings the youthful energy to The Accy, currently on-loan from Everton – though he was responsible for the own-goal which gave Newport all three points last October.
