John Coleman was surprised at the statistic that his side haven’t won three league games in a row this season – and that’s now the challenge he has set his team.
The Reds take on Lincoln City at the Wham Stadium on Saturday having secured back-to-back victories against AFC Wimbledon and Shrewsbury.
The Imps are in 16th place in the table, two points and two places above the Reds, but have played two games more.
A third successive win would take Stanley above Michael Appleton’s side and move them further away from the relegation spots.
“We are not getting carried away, we have had two vital wins and that’s given us a little bit of breathing space but we won’t be resting on our laurels and we want to finish the season strongly," said Coleman.
“Some people are already saying we are safe but you can’t take your foot off the gas, you have paying public who come to watch you, battling through the wind as they did on Tuesday night, and you owe it to them to go and try and win regardless of where you are in the table.
“I didn’t know we hadn’t won three in a row this season but that’s now an incentive, we want to finish as high as possible.
“It can be disheartening if you win and do not move but to go above Lincoln is a big incentive and lets the fans go home happy.
“We had a good performance against AFC Wimbledon the last time we were at home and the fans were delighted with the game, you can see at 5pm how it can affect the moods of people. The place is either deserted or it’s vibrant with a band on and everyone enjoying ‘a pound a pint’. You want football fans to be happy with your performances.”
Lincoln haven’t won in five games, since beating Blackpool on 18th January, and have been hampered with injuries.
“They play a different style of football now to when the Cowley brothers were in charge.
“They have got good players, they have lost John Akinde but they have got Tom Hopper and they have good experienced players who can hurt you.
“It will be a challenging game but we believe we can make it difficult for them as well.”
Coleman has Sam Finley back, after he came off the bench in the 2-0 win at Shrewsbury midweek, and Colby Bishop isn’t far off a return. Joe Pritchard is also back in the reckoning after being suspended for the Shrews match.
“I have got selection problems - it's a good problem to have,” added Coleman. “Once we get Colby back in a couple of weeks we will have five top strikers in Colby, Benny Ashley-Seal, Bobby Grant, Dion Charles and Ozzy Zanzala, at this level.
“I can’t remember having so much fire power at the club so that bodes well.”