"GET your ground ready - we are going up."

Those were the words spoken by Stanley's prospective summer signing - a midfielder with league experience who will be coming to the Crown Ground for next season's Conference charge.

The Reds are remaining quiet about the name but chairman Eric Whalley has promised two influential signings who are determined to lead Stanley into non-League's top flight next summer.

"We had a word with one of the players and he told John Coleman 'get your ground ready we are going up.' I liked that!" said the ambitious Whalley.

"The ground is ready and we want players with that attitude.

"They are both available on free transfers but I have never been afraid to spend.

"I have never been afraid to put my hand in my pocket and if John wants someone, then we will do our best to get them."

Stanley's record signing is currently £30,000 for Gary Williams but saying that, they had initially sold the striker to Doncaster for £60,000.

"The manager always gets if he asks," smiled Whalley.

This season Burton have raced away with the UniBond Premier League title and Whalley wants Stanley to have the same impact next term.

"We want a big push for the Conference next season," said the chairman.

"We have got the ground up to Conference standard and we don't want a ground that holds 6,000 and then be too many rungs down the non-League ladder.

"We had a really poor start this season but we did well against the sides near the top. We came close to beating Burton, we were 3-1 up but ended up drawing and only lost 2-1 at their place.

"But there is nobody we should fear. Stalybridge will come down and they will be in the top five or six but hopefully we will be above them.

"I am confident we can do it. We just need to keep the side together - we do have four or five scouts coming down every game to watch us."

There is no doubt that Stanley have been boosted by the Lancashire Marsden Cup triumph over Barrow on Wednesday night.

And they hope there is another piece of silverware in the cabinet when the Reds look to overcome a 1-0 deficit against Bradford PA at the Crown Ground on Tuesday in the UniBond League Cup final.

"We need to win against Bradford to make it a great season," continued Whalley, who thoroughly enjoyed watching his side lift their first Lancashire Trophy since 1921 - and then it was the 'old' Accrington.

"It is the third time I have been to the Lancashire Cup final. I have been involved twice as a manager with Great Harwood and Clitheroe and I have won them both against the odds.

"But Wednesday night's victory gave me so much more pleasure, even though I wasn't involved on the pitch.

"A team like Accrington should be winning things. Accrington Stanley is a big name in non-League football and we have under-achieved.

"It is time Accrington started getting into finals

"This is the first time we have won the Lancashire Marsden Trophy in its current form.

"It is the biggest trophy in Lancashire and three Conference sides were involved at the start.

"Hopefully we can build on this for the future."

The chairman was delighted with the way the players battled back despite having just ten men for the second half following captain Peter Cavanagh's dismissal for a second bookable offence.

Paul Mullin scored his 32nd goal of the season with Simon Carden adding the second after the interval.

"For the players to keep going with ten men shows the character we have in the side," said Whalley. "The players stick together and we have got a young side.

"Jonathan Smith, at 23, was the oldest in our backline and then we had two 21 year olds. Steve Halford is an animal on the pitch and he has a will to win. He has the right attitude.

"And the supporters were magnificent. We have been getting a lot of phone calls at the club about the win and we are hoping to get more than 1,000 on Tuesday night."

First up however, the Reds make the trip to Whitby tomorrow hoping to maintain a top six position.