Accrington Stanley chairman Andy Holt announces the League Two club is up ‘for sale’ in social media outburst claiming ‘he’s done’ and wants ‘his weekends back’ before claiming ‘p*** poor decisions’ were the cause of their relegation last season

• Accrington Stanley’s chairman Andy Holt has stated that the club is up ‘for sale’ 
• He announced the news on social media on Saturday claiming that he was ‘done’
• Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s podcast ‘It’s All Kicking Off!’

Accrington Stanley’s chairman Andy Holt has announced that the League Two club is up ‘for sale’ in an extraordinary outburst on social media, with the chairman admitting that he ‘is done’ and ‘wants his weekends and life back’. 

The comments came after the Lancashire club, who were relegated to the fourth tier last season after a five-year spell in League One, defeated MK Dons in a narrow victory at the Wham Stadium. 

The club currently sit seventh in the league standings but Holt, who became the club’s majority shareholder back in 2015 after clearing approximately £1.2million worth of debts, according to Sky Sports, took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce that the team would be up for sale. 

He wrote: ‘So now Accrington Stanley is up for sale. I won’t let the club fail, but I’m done.’

The businessman, who formerly made his fortune in the plastics industry, is renowned for his activity on the social media platform, having notably once hit out at Boris Johnson for the government’s restrictions on playing football matches amid the coronavirus pandemic, threatening to withdraw the club from playing matches. 

Accrington Stanley Chairman Andy Holt has announced on social media that the club is up for sale

Holt took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce that the club would be up for sale in an extraordinary outburst

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Mail Sport have contacted Accrington Stanley but the club are unable to comment on the matter at present. 

Holt issued a number of statements on Saturday night, adding: ‘I’m not the right person to take this forward. Accy needs to change and become a new club with new methods.’

The owner also addressed comments from fans last night and claimed that £90,000 had been invested in the football club last month. 

One fan asked him where would the club be without him as their owner, to which Holt responded: ‘They would be bust. Like most clubs. I’m not going out on a Saturday night and spending all night pretending to be happy. 

‘And I’m not spending millions doing something I don’t enjoy. I want my weekends and life back.’

‘Seriously I have no more to offer. Time for someone fresh,’ he added before saying: ‘When we got relegated last season the first thing our managers said was ‘give us a new contract or sack us’

‘There was no way their performance deserved anything but the sack.

‘But their past with the club got them a “get out of jail free card”

‘Had they buckled down and proved they still had the hunger and desire to rebuild the club, I would discuss new contracts.

‘Instead, after a few wins (not 3 straight losses), they went to the media. They tried to use fans to pressure me. Which was a mistake.’

The comments came after assistant manager Jimmy Bell told BBC Radio Lancashire last week that he and manager John Coleman’s futures at the were uncertain.

Bell said: ‘Me and John want to stay and we’ll do everything we can to move the club forward,’.

‘Our contracts are running down. We’ve been here a long time – I think it’s 23 years in all. We absolutely love the club, the fans and everything about it.

‘But I’ve got to work, and I would love that security again of having a four-year or three-year contract. John has to work as well, we’re not fortunate enough to just retire.

‘I find it amazing that we are running down a contract now. Andy has done magnificently for the club and at some stage we’re going to have to have a chat – and I hope it’s sooner, not later.’

Coleman and Bell are currently in their second spell with the club, having guided Accrington to the Football League back in 2006.

After spending time at Rochdale, Southport and Sligo Rovers, the pair re-joined Accrington Stanley back in 2014 and subsequently helped the team achieve promotion to League One in 2018. 

Holt took over as the club’s owner in 2015, with the club being relegated to League Two last season

Stanley currently sit seventh in the league table and defeated MK Dons 1-0 on Saturday

In his outburst, Holt admitted that decisions of the clubs management and his own were the reason for their relegation last season

On their decision to speak to the BBC, Holt wrote: ‘They went to BBC Lancashire Sport for one or both of these reasons. To use pressure from fans to coerce me into giving new or extended contracts. To flag out publicly they’re available to other clubs.’

He also admitted that he hadn’t spoken to the manager and his assistant after yesterday’s win, before claiming last season’s relegation was down to some ‘poor decisions’ made by the management and himself.

‘They failed. In football getting relegated threatens a club. Last season was about p*** poor decisions and management. Including my decisions,’ he wrote.

‘I’m not replacing them. I’m replacing me,’ he added.

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