John Coleman is backing Ray Putterill to be a success at the Crown Ground after the midfielder put in an impre-ssive display in Accrington Stanley’s 3-0 weekend win at Northwich.

The 21-year-old scored the first goal in the victory just days after agreeing to join the Reds following his release by Liverpool and caught the eye for the hour he played at the Victoria Stadium.

“Ray still needs to get a bit sharper as he’s had a long time out of the game,” said Coleman. “But he’s a very, very good footballer with a good brain and I think he’ll get stronger rather than going the other way.

“I don’t think we’ve seen anywhere near the best of him yet.”

Stanley were on top from the start of the hastily arranged game, with Jimmy Ryan their main attacking threat in the opening minutes. The Republic of Ireland under 21 international went closest to scoring in the first half when his long range effort rebounded off the upright. Trialist Matty Brown was thwarted by Vics goalkeeper James Spencer when his left foot shot seemed destined for the back of the net, but it despite all of Stanley’s efforts it was goalless at the break.

But within nine minutes of the restart, Putterill pounced to convert Craig Lindfield’s right wing cross and put the Reds in front. Once the goal had gone in the non-league side never really looked like getting back on terms, with Ian Dunbavin having little to do after the restart.

Predictably the Reds did go further in front with Rory Boulding continu-ing his quest to win a Crown Ground contract with a second goal 13 minutes from time before fellow trialist Michael Jukes collected the rebound after his header hit the post to confirm the victory in the dying stages.

“It was a tough game today because they’re working hard towards their fitness, they’ve got a lot of trialists on and they were always going to give us a tough physical battle and that’s not always a bad thing in pre-season,” admitted Coleman.

Meanwhile, Coleman is hoping that Andy Parkinson can provide the experience that his young side need to succeed in League Two.

Like Putterill the 31-year-old agreed to join the Reds following their trip to Devon and made an impression as a second half subs-titute against the Vics.

“I think Andy still has a lot to offer,” said Coleman. “He’s another intelligent player, he knows the game and it helps when players know the mechanics of the game and understand how a game develops. I think he’ll be a good addition for us.

“His experience will be a big help. He’s a good lad around the dressing room, he joins in with the lads and we’re starting to get the group of players and the spirit that I like developing at the moment.”