JOHN Coleman says a new mid-season deal for defender Matty Pearson is testament to new Accrington Stanley owner Andy Holt’s investment into the club.

In previous seasons Accrington Stanley have had to get to the end of campaigns before being in a position to be able to offer new contracts to players, and more often than not they would have been short-term deals.

But thanks to What More UK founder Holt’s £1.2million cash injection, aimed at wiping debt, stabilising the club and improving the infrastructure, Coleman has moved to tie Pearson to a longer term deal.

And the Stanley boss hopes more will follow.

When asked if the contract was down to Holt’s investment, Coleman said: “It is. Yes.

“I think some of our fans think that we haven’t got a clue and that we’ve never tried to get players on two-year contracts.

“The club’s never been in a position to put someone on a two-year deal (mid-season).

“The fans don’t realise that you can throw money about but if you haven’t got it you’ll end up in a situation that we had a few years ago where you’re on the brink of going out of business.

“The mechanics of a football club are very different to what’s perceived by the general public.

“The first duty you’ve got is to keep the club afloat, and you’re not going to do that by gambling the future by promising money that you’ve got no guarantee of getting.

“Unfortunately there are a lot of teams in the Football League who do that, that’s why history tells you that 30 or 40 clubs have gone into administration because of it.

“We’re not going to do that.

"I’m really pleased I’ve got Matty on board and we’ll hopefully get three or four more to commit so we can plan for next season as well.”