Get the lowdown on our next opponents: Aldershot Town.

The Opposition

Sutton’s second nearest away day of the season, Aldershot Town will surely be set for a 13th successive season in the fifth tier, having hit form at the perfect time under John Coleman.

The former Accrington Stanley boss arrived at the EBB Stadium in October, failing to win a league game until December, and looked to send them off a slippery slope down to the National League South, 12 years on from their relegation from League Two.

However, this was followed by three wins and a four to end 2025, and after losing their first game of 2026, bounced back with an impressive seven-game unbeaten run to lift them back towards the top half of the table.

Key to their success has been the form of loanees Charlie Warren and Sean Patton, the latter having scored five goals in six games before being recalled by Reading after just a month, but nonetheless proved to be a crucial impact to the Shots’ mid-season upturn in form.

In addition, Ryan Hill has been a consistent leader on the flank, notching eight goals whilst largely playing at wing-back, while the goals of Kwame Thomas, along with Hill and Warren (7), have led to Aldershot’s entire tally of 66 being bettered by only six teams in the entire division – the top six for that matter.

Cameron Hargreaves has been a consistent member of the engine room, playing 39 times this season, while the like of Hady Ghandour, Will Nightingale, James Henry and Josh Barrett have all played key roles in ensuring the Shots haven’t suffered from the exodus of players that departed the club last summer.

Indeed, the likes of key players Jack Barham, Kai Corbett and captain Aaron Jones all exited the club along with their manager Tommy Widdrington, who followed them in the departure lounge when he opted to return to former club Eastbourne Borough, just four months on from guiding them to an Isuzu FA Trophy title with victory over Spennymoor Town at Wembley Stadium.

However, the North Hampshire-based side are looking more and more likely to maintain their National League status for another year, sitting seven points above the drop with six games to go, and will be aiming to bounce back from a winless run of four games as they aim to cement their place.

The Manager

John Coleman

With a managerial career stretching back to 1997, experienced manager John Coleman had established himself as Accrington Stanley’s longest serving manager with a 12-and-a-half-year stint at the Wham Stadium, prior to his move to Aldershot.

His football career began with a two-decade stint as a player primarily in non-league, turning out for Kirkby Town, Burscough, Marine, Southport, Runcorn, Halton, Macclesfield Town, Morecambe, Lancaster City and Ashton United, as well as a short spell in Wales with Rhyl, though his time in England saw him become one of the most prolific goalscorers in non-league history with over 500 goals, including the fifth most amount of goals in Southport history.

He then kick-started his managerial career when he took over as player-manager at Ashton United, before first joining Stanley two years later in 1999 with the club in the Northern Premier League First Division, and they went on to win three promotions as champions to enter the Football League in 2006.

At the time of his departure in 2012 he was the third longest serving manager in England behind Manchester United’s Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsenal’s Arsène Wenger, but he opted to join Rochdale AFC to begin a brief spell away from the Crown Ground. Further stints at Southport and Sligo Rovers followed, but he returned to Lancashire for a second spell in 2014 and subsequently guided them to the League Two title four years later, with the ‘Owd Reds remaining in League One until their relegation in 2023, with Coleman remaining at the helm throughout, racking up an association of more than two decades in total with the club.

He was subsequently dismissed from his role the following year though, and at the time of his departure, he was the longest-serving manager purely in the EFL, taking charge of 1,098 Accrington matches across his two spells.

Brief stints at Gillingham and League of Ireland side Shelbourne followed, before joining Aldershot towards the end of October, where he has guided the club to within a touching distance of safety after an impressive start to 2025.

Photo Credit: Ian Morsman // Aldershot Town Football Club

One to Watch

Charlie Warren

Charlie Warren has got off to a superb start to life at Aldershot, scoring seven goals in 14 game since joining on loan from Bolton Wanderers.

Hailing from Ipswich, Warren began his career with his local side, joining the Ipswich Town academy, from whom he moved to Needham Market and later Felixstowe & Walton United, where he racked up over 100 appearances.

His form for the Seasiders earned him a move to League One side Bolton last summer, making his professional debut for the club as they beat Plymouth Argyle, before embarking on his first senior loan with a switch to Aldershot in December.

Returning south, Warren swiftly became one to watch, notching seven goals in 14 games to contribute to Shots’ rise in form under John Coleman, with his performances being rewarded with an extension of his loan until the end of the season, and saw him continue to shine in non-league football.

Photo Credit: Ian Morsman // Aldershot Town Football Club

Recent Form

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Last Time Out

Aldershot Town got back to winning ways on Saturday afternoon, as late goals from Kwame Thomas and Ryan Hill saw them emerge 2-0 victors against Morecambe in front of a bumper away support at the Mazuma Mobile Stadium.

A particularly blustery day on the west coast saw the wind favour the hosts early, nearly leading to a goal after 4 minutes when a swerving corner hit Ryan Hill’s head and clipped the bar. Despite that scare, the Shots dominated, with Cameron Hargreaves and Christy Grogan both striking the woodwork in quick succession from promising chances, with Will Nightingale also coming close, meeting a free-kick and firing a volley just wide after a deflection off a defender. Morecambe’s best chance fell to Chris Popov, whose tight-angle volley was brilliantly blocked by Coniah Boyce-Clarke, and saw the two sides enter the break goalless.

A tentative second 45 looked to be ebbing towards a bore draw, but with just three minutes of regular time remaining, Ryheem Sheckleford found Brody Peart on the right hand touchline, with the 20-year-old taking one touch before looking up and producing a stunning cross towards the back post where a grateful Thomas was waiting to coolly tap home and break the deadlock for 1-0.

Six minutes of added time may have spelled nerves for the Shots as they held on to their slenderest of leads, though shortly after the fourth-official lifted his board, Charlie Warren managed to break into the box on the left before a canny touch around his marker saw the forward clipped on his way through, an unfair challenge that was spotted by referee Gareth Rhodes who quickly pointed to the spot for an Aldershot Town penalty. Captain and joint top-scorer Hill made no hesitation in stepping up to take, sending Boney the wrong way and slotting his pressure penalty coolly inside the right-hand post to pick up a crucial first win in seven, stretching their distance from the relegation zone to seven points.

Photo Credit: Ian Morsman // Aldershot Town Football Club