Bettinelli staying with Stanley

Goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli will remain with Accrington on loan for the rest of the season after extending his stay from Fulham.

The 21-year-old is in the midst of a second spell with Stanley, after originally joining in August, and has made 21 appearances for James Beattie's team. Young stopper Andrew Dawber had to fill in when Bettinelli returned to Craven Cottage around the Christmas period but, with him now nursing a thigh injury, Accrington have moved to acquire their first-choice goalkeeper for the remainder of the campaign. "I'm delighted to be staying with the club," he said. "I was a bit disappointed to have to go back to Fulham over the Christmas period, which meant I missed a couple of games. Dawbs came in and did a great job and he deserved that because he works really hard. "It's great to know that I'm here until the end of the season. I'm really enjoying my time here and being part of a great group of lads with a fantastic work ethic and we want to get the club as high as we can up the table. "For me personally, as a goalkeeper, I think I really need to do these sort of things because I'm learning my trade basically. It's a tough league to play in, there are a lot of good teams in it and I think that we are one of those good teams and it's an invaluable experience for me that I'm really thriving upon at the moment." The news has also come as a boost to Beattie. "To have a goalkeeper of Marcus's calibre is great for us," he said. "We're very thankful to Fulham for letting us keep him and I think that Marcus is really enjoying his time here. "He seems to be enjoying being a part of the group and in any walk of life you enjoy being successful. That's something that we are trying to build here." Accrington have also confirmed goalkeeper Ian Dunbavin will stay at Chesterfield for the rest of the season on loan.