# John Coleman (footballer, born 1962)

John Coleman (born 12 October 1962) is an English football manager and former player. He is currently manager of EFL League Two side Gillingham.

## Playing career

Coleman had a long playing career, mainly in non-league football for Kirkby Town, Burscough, Marine, Southport, Runcorn F.C. Halton, Macclesfield Town, Morecambe, Lancaster City and Ashton United. He also had a short spell in Wales with Rhyl. He was one of the most prolific non-league goalscorers in history, with over 500 goals to his name in a career spanning almost two decades. This success saw him play for the England National Game XI (the England team for semi-professional players) and receive many Player of the Year awards from the clubs he played for.
Coleman is ranked fifth on Southport's list of highest goalscorers of all-time.

## Managerial career

He was appointed player-manager of Ashton United in 1997. After two years, he joined Accrington Stanley then playing in the Northern Premier League First Division. His 12+1⁄2-year tenure saw the club win three promotions as champions to enter the Football League in 2006. He was also the club's longest ever serving manager. At the time of his departure to Rochdale, Coleman was the third longest serving manager in England, behind Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger.
On 24 January 2012, Coleman and his assistant Jimmy Bell were appointed by Rochdale to replace Steve Eyre, who had left the club the previous month. Their contracts were terminated by Rochdale on 21 January 2013 following a poor run in form. In October 2013, Coleman declared his interest in replacing Dave Hockaday as manager of Forest Green Rovers, but returned to Southport as manager on 7 December 2013, with Jimmy Bell once again as his assistant.
He took over as manager of Sligo Rovers in June 2014.
On 18 September 2014, Coleman was confirmed as manager of Accrington Stanley for his second spell with the club. In the 2015–16 season, Coleman led Accrington to a 4th place finish, missing out on automatic promotion on the final game of the season by goal difference. In the play-offs, Accrington lost to AFC Wimbledon after extra time in the semi-finals. In the 2017–18 season, the club won the League Two title to reach the third tier of English football for the first time in the club's history. His achievement earned him the EFL Manager of the Season award for 2017–18.
They were relegated to League Two at the end of the 2022–23 season. On 3 March 2024, Coleman was sacked by Accrington the day after a 4–0 defeat to Wrexham with the club in 16th position. At the time of his departure, he was the longest-serving manager purely in the EFL having been in charge for 9 years and 6 months. Across his two spells with the club, Coleman was in charge for 1,098 matches.
On 5 January 2025, Coleman was appointed manager of League Two side Gillingham on a short-term contract until the end of the season.

## Managerial statistics

    As of match played 15 March 2025
Managerial record by team and tenure :
| Team | From | To | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Team | From | To | P | W | D | L | Win % |
| Ashton United | 1 August 1997 | 1 May 1999 | 91 | 53 | 21 | 17 | 058.24 |
| Accrington Stanley | 1 May 1999 | 23 January 2012 | 587 | 236 | 148 | 203 | 040.20 |
| Rochdale | 24 January 2012 | 21 January 2013 | 52 | 14 | 14 | 24 | 026.92 |
| Southport | 7 December 2013 | 3 May 2014 | 25 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 032.00 |
| Sligo Rovers | 21 June 2014 | 18 September 2014 | 15 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 046.67 |
| Accrington Stanley | 18 September 2014 | 3 March 2024 | 511 | 200 | 128 | 183 | 039.14 |
| Gillingham | 5 January 2025 | Present | 13 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 015.38 |
| Total | Total | Total | 1,294 | 520 | 328 | 446 | 040.19 |

## Honours
### Player

Individual
* Southport Player of the Year: 1986–87

### Manager

Accrington Stanley
* EFL League Two: 2017–18
* Conference National: 2005–06
* Northern Premier: 2002–03
* Northern Premier League Division One: 1999–2000
* NPL Challenge Cup: 2000–01
* NPL Challenge Shield: 2001–02, 2002–03
* Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy: 2000–01, 2004–05
Individual
* EFL Manager of the Season: 2017–18
* League One Manager of the Month: December 2019, November 2020
* League Two Manager of the Month: September 2015, March 2017, February 2018, March 2018