John Coleman has defended Accrington Stanley's decision to fly to their FA Cup tie with Portsmouth by claiming that it is the most practical option.

The League Two side will take to the air on Friday morning ahead of their 3pm kickoff the following afternoon on the South Coast.

Despite enduring financial troubles prior to the recent cash injection into the club, Coleman believes that flying South is the best way to deal with the latest long-distance trip.

Speaking to Stanley's official website, he said: "If you take into account the fact that you take your expenses out of the gate it's not that much more expensive to fly. I thought it was a chance to get down there without having to have a six or seven-hour coach journey in their legs.

"We'll have to get up early but we'll be down there early, we can train and the players can go to bed in the afternoon. It'll maybe just take out of the equation the fact that we have to travel so far to get there. It's not that the new owner has come in and he's rich and suddenly we're flying everywhere.

"It was a cheap, practical option. We haven't got a private jet or anything like that! I hope we see the benefit of it. We hope this will help the players prepare. We'll be getting there at ten in the morning rather than seven or eight at night depending on the traffic. We'd hope that will make a difference. They'll be able to get some more rest and focus on the game."

Following Saturday's cup tie at Fratton Park, fourth-place Accrington return to league action with a home meeting against Wycombe Wanderers in nine days' time.