John Coleman & Jimmy Bell to be special guests at NPL Player awards dinner

Coleman will present the awards on the evening, including the respective Teams of the Year for the EVO-STIK League Premier, East and West Divisions, the NPLFA and the equivalent Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards.

Voting forms have been sent to club, as have details for booking tickets for the event to be held in Barnsley.

Coleman, 56, had a long playing career, mainly in non-league, turning out for Burscough, Marine, Southport, Runcorn, Macclesfield Town, Morecambe, Lancaster City and Ashton United, scoring more than 500 goals to make him one of the most prolific goalscorers in history.

He joined Accrington as manager in 1999 when they were in the Northern Premier League First Division, and in more than 12 years in charge, he led the club to three promotions as champions to enter the Football League in 2006.

His reign at the time put him behind only Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger as the longest serving manager in England, though he would leave Accrington in 2012 to go to Rochdale.

After returning to Accrington in 2014, he led them to the Football League Two title in 2017/18, earning promotion to League One, where they currently sit in mid-table.

Alongside Coleman for the majority of his career has been assistant Bell. The two grew up together in Kirkby and have managed an incredible 1000 games together.

Tickets are now on sale via club secretaries for £35, which includes a three course meal.