Accrington Stanley manager James Beattie says that he needs to be selective with his summer signings so that the squad remains unsettled heading into the 2014/15 season.

Stanley defied the odds to beat relegation after opening their campaign with 12 win-less matches, eventually finishing 15th and Beattie says that the harmony within his squad was vital to their success.

"We're not the biggest club but we've got tremendous heart and there's a lot of substance and brainpower behind that badge. There are intelligent people all the way through this club, which is what I like," he told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"People can say what they want about us but we know that there is a tremendous spirit here; we showed that towards the end of last season.

"What I would say is that maybe my players aren't paid the best but they probably go into one of the best clubs to work in and one of the best environments which is what got us the results towards the end of last season because of the team spirit we've built," he added.

The 36 year-old places a great emphasis on team spirit and the power of the collective rather than the individual. It is a mantra he intends to use when deciding upon transfers before Stanley's campaign kicks off at home to Southend United on August 9th.

"I said last year that your recruitment is 90% of your success. Getting the right players in the door, whether that be how they can play football, how they conduct themselves, how they integrate into the squad, everything. It all goes as one. We've got to be very careful with who we bring into the squad and this environment because we don't want anybody upsetting it.

"I know for a fact that anyone who came to Accrington Stanley would enjoy it. They would enjoy the way we train. They would enjoy the training, the content. They would enjoy the atmosphere and the environment they would come into. They would enjoy playing."

This season will be Beattie's second in management and, after a successful debut season, the former England international is feeling positive about his side's chances in the division.

"Hopefully I've learnt a few things [in my first year]!" he laughed. "We won't be talking about the play-offs and stuff like that as early as I was last year but, as I've said, there's potential in this team. If we keep building on what we built last year and add a couple more players as well as being intelligent in the loan market, we can more than hold our own in this league.

"As far as aspirations go, everybody has got to be aspirational whether you're a player or the chairman. Myself, as the manager, I'm aspirational. I want to go all the way in my career. At this present moment in time, I want to do as well as I can for Accrington Stanley, that's paramount and first in my thoughts at the moment."