THE Accrington Stanley machine finally looks as if it's moving into top gear.

It had a bit of a cough and a splutter against Crawley on Saturday but at the end of the day they got the three points in front of their highest crowd of the season.

Three wins on the spin have elevated Stanley to fourth in the Nationwide Conference table, and with bottom of the table Aldershot visiting the Interlink Express Stadium tomorrow they could hit the dizzy heights of second should results go in their favour.

But this wasn't an easy day. The wheels looked like they could come off Stanley's promotion juggernaut at times and manager John Coleman said he was drained after being put through the ringer again by his side.

He said: "Myself and Jimmy (Bell) and Paul Cook came off absolutely shattered. It's very draining emotionally. You come off all aches and pains but that's how important football is to us.

"Any win's a great win but the relief when that fourth goal went in was unbelievable.

"In patches we were breathtaking but at other times we were absolutely atrocious and we've got to get our consistency back.

"We've got to stop conceding cheap goals because eventually it will cost us."

But Coleman slammed the small minority of Reds fans who barracked the players when the chips were down.

"The bulk of our fans do get behind us but there are quite a few supporters who are heard getting on the players backs a bit and that must dent their confidence," he said.

"So I'm delighted the lads have seen it through and got the win."

Stanley got off to the perfect start after just four minutes when Crawley failed to deal with a corner and Ian Craney lashed home a low shot from the edge of the area.

The Reds, buoyed by the early goal, dominated the first quarter of the game and started to ooze confidence.

A great free-kick routine two minutes later personified this when Anthony Barry shaped to shoot but instead Gary Roberts dragged the ball under his foot and turned before smashing his shot just wide.

And on 12 minutes, David Brown was denied his third goal of the season by a superb reaction stop from Crawley keeper Phil Smith after great approach work from Paul Mullin and Steve Jagielka.

And it looked as if the hosts had clicked into cruise control when a superb cross-field ball by Brown found Roberts but his shot whizzed just wide.

But Crawley threw a spanner into the works when Steve Burton got in behind the Stanley defence and curled a shot that cannoned in off the post, giving Darren Randolph no chance.

The goal knocked Stanley out of kilter and the rest of the first half was largely forgettable except for two disallowed goals - one for either side.

The goal Crawley had rejected, turned home by Chris Giles, looked particularly harsh but the linesman gave the left back offside.

But Stanley will have felt aggrieved not to have gone in to the half-time break in front. Roberts was denied by a superb double save by Smith in the final minute, then, right on whistle, Jagielka was hacked down in the box. It looked like a stonewall penalty but referee Mark Tilling blew his whistle and pointed to the dressing room - not the spot - leaving the Reds players in a rage and Jagielka in a heap.

Stanley retook the lead in the 57th minute when a diagonal ball over the top found Roberts wide on the left.

The Crawley backline stood static awaiting the offside flag as Jagielka was offside in the centre - but he was deemed not active - and Roberts stole in and rolled the ball into the now onside Jagielka and he tapped the ball home from three yards.

But as in the first half, Stanleywere again caught cold. Any team with Daryl Clare can be considered dangerous and he showed exactly why he was the Conference's leading scorer in 2003 just after the hour.

A long ball found Burton but, despite four red shirts surrounding him, he slid the ball into Clare who had made a fantastic run and he clipped the ball over Randolph and in.

Stanley needed to respond and they did - thanks to a blunder by the previously brilliant Smith in the Crawley goal.

Roberts' free kick from 20 yards seemed to pose no problem but the ball went straight through Smith's hands and into the net to gift Stanley the lead.

Craney whizzed a free kick just past the post from wide on the right.

The Stanley fans were biting their nails as Crawley pressed looking for another equaliser but Andy Mangan put the game beyond doubt deep into injury time.

Stanley cleared a long throw out to Benin international Romuald Boco and after a lovely one-two, Boco played a delightful ball into Mangan's path and he slid the ball under Smith for his second of the season.

Stanley deserved their win on the day but they will need to be meaner in defensive areas if they are to stay in the upper echelons of the table.

Then, and only then, can Stanley fans can dream about life in the Football League.

l STANLEY will travel to Rotherham on Tuesday, October 18 in the first round, northern section of the LDV Trophy.