JOHN Coleman believes his Accrington Stanley side are on the up as they have only tasted defeat once in their last seven matches in all competitions.

After winning their opening group game, the Reds secured their place in the last 32 of the EFL Trophy with a 3-0 victory away at Oldham Athletic last night.

Goals from Sadou Diallo, Offrande Zanzala and Jordan Clark ensured the three points went back to the Wham Stadium.

"We want to go on a run and we’ve now lost one in seven games. We know we’re going in the right direction and we’ve got good players in the squad," said Coleman.

"We’ve made nine changes today, but we know any one of them could step up to the plate if we asked them to.

"That bodes well for the future. We’ve got to try and build on what we’ve done tonight and the last few weeks on Saturday."

The Reds boss thinks League Two side Oldham deserve some praise for their performance against his side.

"We’ve got to give Oldham a bit of credit first off because they started really well and held us back for the first 15 minutes with a couple of goals in our box," added Coleman.

"Our keeper’s made a good save with the header from a corner. We were probably the architects of our own downfall; we were giving the ball away in our own half too much with the wrong choice of pass, we didn’t really get our advanced midfielders on the ball.

"We settled down after about 25 minutes and we started passing it around. We scored a great goal and then you could see the confidence coming back to us and we played our proper game.

"We passed it in the right areas, our choice of pass was good, we made a couple of good chances and the keeper’s made a good save.

"We got the penalty and then the sending off sealed the game. Give Oldham credit, they came at us in the second half and they made a couple of good chances themselves. "Toby’s made a couple of excellent saves again. We got a little bit sloppy in possession, but it showed how well we can see the game out when we were passing the ball around.

"Jordan has then scored a wonderful goal. We’ve capped the night with a brilliant move. I’m pleased that we’re through, I think that’s us qualified now and that was our objective from the start. "We’ve got an opportunity in this cup, and we’ve got to try and take it. It’s good to get players some games under their belts as well."

Coleman made nine changes to the side that drew 1-1 with Oxford United on Saturday and the players who came in impressed their manager with the performances they put in at Boundary Park.

"Players certainly can’t rest on their laurels; we spoke to the players about working hard in training and trying to get into the team," Coleman said.

"What you don’t want to do with players who aren’t in the team is when you get your opportunity, you have to take it. I think our lads showed that they are willing and they’re able.

"When they’re called upon, I’m sure they’ll deliver."