When people are asked to describe Accrington Stanley, the vast majority – fans aside of course - will most probably give an answer in relation to the advert.

The advert was broadcast onto our screens many decades ago, which involved a young boy drinking milk and expressing his desire to play for Accrington Stanley, when the boy alongside him asks abruptly ‘Accrington Stanley, who are they?!’

For many seasons, Stanley have struggled in the bottom tier of the Football League.

The club were only formed in 1968, and were promoted to League Two from the Conference back in 2006.

In the first season after being promoted, Accrington finished 20th, after a heroic return of five wins in their last nine games saved them from the drop.

In the 2007-08 season, Accrington built marginally upon their finishing position from the season before and finished 17th, this was then followed up with a 16th place finish the following season, The next two seasons saw a big improvement for the Lancashire club with them mounting a play-off push in the 2009-10 season which faded away, however, in the 2010-11 season, Accrington made it into the play-offs, eventually succumbing to defeat in the semi-finals against Stevenage.

The following season saw a transitional period for Stanley, as no fewer than six members of the play-off team departed, the team eventually finished 14th and displayed mixed form throughout the season.

Paul Cook was the manager, and he eventually departed in the 2012-13 season to take up the managerial post at Chesterfield.

In the 2013-14 season, the club made headlines as they appointed former England striker James Beattie as their new manager, however it was clear to see that he wasn’t ready for the job and his resignation then signalled the return of John Coleman to the helm, their first season – 2014-15, saw him lead Accrington to an unspectacular 17th place.

Fast forward to the present day, and Accrington Stanley are surpassing the expectations of many, they currently sit third in League Two with 21 wins from 41 games, they are also all but guaranteed a play-off place.

There is no doubt that Coleman has got the side playing for him, and if they were to achieve the near impossible and gain promotion to League One, then it’s fair to say that the infamous milk advert won’t be the first thing on everyone’s mind when Accrington Stanley are mentioned.