ACCRINGTON Stanley can achieve ‘something special’ this season if they find a greater level of consistency, according to striker Billy Kee.

The former Leicester City youngster scored twice in the 4-3 defeat to AFC Wimbledon on Tuesday, a result that highlighted the Reds battle to perform regularly at the level that saw them take 13 points from 15 in September.

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At 24, and with over 250 games under his belt, Kee is one of the senior members of John Coleman’s side, and he believes the fact the squad is young and learning on the job in the Football League is the reason for their up and down displays.

Regulars such as Jason Mooney, Tom Davies, Matt Crooks, Adam Buxton and Seamus Conneely have all made less than 50 Football League appearances, while Josh Windass has only just gone past that landmark.

“For some of the lads this is the first time they have played regular league games. They’ve done terrific to do what they’ve done so far,” said Kee.

“With a young team you don’t get that consistency, because often the young lads don’t know what’s good for their bodies and what they need to do to play well.

“I’m 24 now and I’ve reached the stage where my routine is more or less the same.

“With young players you don’t know sometimes, they’re learning so much.

“I got into the game playing regularly at 18 and generally the lads here are coming in and starting to play regularly at 21 or 22, it’s very hard for them.”

New loan signing Brad Halliday has added to the inexperienced nature of the squad, and Kee believes the step-up to senior football can be a big one.

“The step is massive,” he said. “I came straight to Accrington at 18 so I never played reserves and development football, it took me two years to get used to this level, I was still scoring a few goals here and there but I didn’t have the consistency.

“Sometimes these under-21 leagues aren’t right for the kids, they’re not learning real football. When you’ve got people here on £200 a week trying to make a living it’s different.”

But Kee knows Coleman’s young guns have the chance to finish in the top seven this season.

“Every year we’re told Accrington are going down but we’re around the play-offs,” he said. “We believe we can do something special this season. We will get there in the end.”