Accrington Stanley manager John Coleman expects Crawley to be harder to beat than sides tipped for the Conference title.

Reds make the 600-mile round trip to Lancashire high on confidence after taking seven points from their first three games in non-league's top flight.

It is a dream start following their promotion as Dr Martens premier division champions last season.

Coleman knows exactly how Crawley are feeling. Stanley entered the Conference for the first time last year after winning the northern premier division and finished a respectable tenth.

That is why Coleman believes his side face one of their toughest tests on Saturday.

He said: "They are in exactly the same situation as we were last season, so I'm not surprised they have done well in their first few games.

"We were on a crest of a wave when we went up and I even budgeted for good results against decent sides on the back of the novelty factor of playing in the Conference and players' enthusiasm.

"Going up as champions gives you the winning mentality and if you have that, which Crawley have, then you can beat almost anyone in this division. They are in buoyant mood and I believe playing them will be just as tough, maybe even tougher, than against the likes of Hereford or Aldershot at the moment.

"We know we are in for a really hard game. I had them watched and I heard some good things, so I'm looking for my players to produce a good performance against them."

Coleman believes it will be hard for Crawley to maintain their good start but does not regard them as relegation candidates.

He said: "The wave of confidence does not last forever but there are ways of keeping it going.

"We were fortunate last year in that we had a good run in the FA Cup at a time when our league form was starting to tail off.

"That kept things going but it will be different for different sides. It depends on how good Crawley are mentally. If the players keep their enthusiasm then they will have every chance of doing well this season."

Accrington, like Crawley, worked on a part-time basis last season before turning professional in the summer.

They started with wins against Burton Albion and Morecambe but slumped 5-0 at Stevenage last week.

Coleman believes sides going full-time are the only contenders for the title.

He said: "If you look at the part-time clubs last season, it was only us and Aldershot who were in the top half of the table."

Crawley are waiting for the results of a bone scan on midfielder Mo Harkin's ankle injury. Manager Francis Vines said: "He has either just jarred it badly, in which case he will be back pretty soon, or he could have to have an operation."

Defender Ben Judge has recovered from a hamstring injury.