The feel good story of League Two just keeps on giving.
Accrington Stanley(who? exactly) went from missing out on promotion two seasons ago to finding themselves in the middle of a relegation dog-fight by the Christmas of the next season. A 15-game unbeaten run eventually kept the side safe.
That run of form has continued into this season, with the club holding the second smallest budget in English league football clinching the League Two last weekend, meaning they're set to enter the third tier for the first time in the club's history.
There they'll will face the comparative giants of Sunderland, and possibly the likes of Birmingham, Bolton, and Reading depending on the Championship's last round of fixtures, and Stanley's owner Andy Holt joined the Keith Andrews Show today to discuss the success the club has had under his guidance. The local businessman has seen the club win it's first ever league title, something nobody had planned on four years ago, not even Holt himself, who hadn't planned on buying the club at all.
"We sponsored the shirt because they had no brass, so we sponsored the shirt to give them a little cash, and when we went to pre-season friendlies it was obvious they were going down. So it was a case of either help them or don't help them and let them go. So I'd no intentions of buying a football club, I just kind of got roped in".
People have made worst decisions it's fair to say, though it wasn't all plain sailing for Stanley, with Holt referencing the trouble the side had with keeping its talented players due to rolling one-year contracts, something many League Two outfits have to deal with and means the league players often leave to bigger sides for free.
Having lost Josh Windass and Matt Crooks to Rangers on free contracts, the club decided to implement contracts, which Holt says has been crucial in keeping the team together and building from there.
"I've related it to snakes and ladders, if you had a good season you lost all of your players every season and you go back to the beginning and start again with a brand new squad".
"They don't buy them off you, they just outbid you in wages. So we put contracts in order, and every transfer window since then we've been improving the squad. Then the second half of last year we went on a 15 game unbeaten run, which we brought into this year and we've added to that squad, we're not losing it. So that's what gave me confidence that we'd do well".
When it comes to more player recruitment before the beginning of the League One season, Holt admits that they won't be able to compete financially, but said the loan system can supply them with talented players looking for game time, a system they've been using in recent years.
"Recruitment and pay isn't really a problem, because what we're selling is if you join us you can use us as a stepping stone to move up the pyramid. We're happy for players who've got ambition and aspiration to grow to come and join us".
"Short term cash is not necessarily the only issue for players. There are a lot of kids sat in Premier League academies that are going nowhere. We took Jimmy Dunne on loan from Burnley last year, and he got his Republic of Ireland Under-21 call-up because he's been seen. In Burnley Under-23s he's never going to be seen".
"It's a great opportunity at Stanley, because we're not filled with megastars, it's a great opportunity for lads to get a go".
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