ACCRINGTON Stanley were left reeling this week after being handed a £20,000 fine for employing manager James Beattie without the requisite coaching qualifications.

But Bury boss David Flitcroft believes the FA have got it wrong, describing the punishment as “crazy”.

“I know (James Beattie) Beats has got a team around him that have got those qualifications and that’s what the FA should look at – what the management team is like as a whole,” he said.

“If that is professional, and we know it is at Accrington, then it should be overlooked for sure.

“To fine a club like Accrington £20,000 - I just think they are taking money out of football and it’s crazy.”

Flitcroft has seen enough from Beattie and his side’s progression this season to believe he has what it takes to manage at this level.

“The first five, six, seven games of the season they really struggled, but Beats stuck to his beliefs and turned it around,” he said, with Accrington 18th in the League Two table, a point and two places better off than Bury ahead of Saturday’s trip to the Crown Ground.

“All managers and chairman should take a note of that. Sometimes if you are trigger happy you don’t get the rewards.

“With Beats they have a manager who stuck to his beliefs and carried on doing it the way he knew was right.

“He also brought more quality into the building and his principles of play have been put into practice and they have won a lot of games from November through to now.”