Crawley Town boss Kewell: '˜I want the guys to not be scared of mistakes'

Crawley Town head coach Harry Kewell wants his players to go express themselves like great players do and not be afraid to make mistakes.
Crawley Town v Chelsea XI. Harry Kewell and Warren Feeney. Pic Steve Robards SR1716455 SUS-170717-152523001Crawley Town v Chelsea XI. Harry Kewell and Warren Feeney. Pic Steve Robards SR1716455 SUS-170717-152523001
Crawley Town v Chelsea XI. Harry Kewell and Warren Feeney. Pic Steve Robards SR1716455 SUS-170717-152523001

He also wants to take the positives out of Saturday’s 3-1 opening game defeat against Port Vale as they travel to Cheltenham Town on Saturday for his first ever league away game in charge of a first team.

In between he made nine changes to his side when they lost 5-1 away to Harry Redknapp’s Birmingham City in the first round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night.

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Kewell summed up his response to losing his first game in charge as: “Angry, disappointed, furious, but that’s part and parcel of the game.

“You’ve got to accept that and move on.

“We’re capable of doing that (scoring a great goal, netted by Enzio Boldewijn), they’ve just got to believe in what we do on the training park and then produce it out here.

“There’s no point in creating all these chances and not putting them away.

“It’s something we are working on and we’ll get there in the end.

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“Playing the long ball is not League 2 thinking - players see a pass and sometimes a long-ball is not what it looks like - it’s a pass.

“And when it’s the right moment to play a long-ball, play it. I think in the first half (against Port Vale) we played too many long balls and in the second half we kept the ball on the ground and moved them.

“It was just a shame we didn’t take our chances.”

“The second half was a completely different thing from the first half and we’ve got to take the positiveness from the first half and we’ve got to kick-on.”

Kewell revealed he’s never been afraid of a challenge.

He said: “I was never one to be scared to go out there and make mistakes - I always make mistakes in games.

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“And I think all great players do, they go out there and push themselves to the limits.

“They want to get the ball, they want to try things and if things don’t come off they’re not afraid to try again.

“That’s what I want to instill in these guys; I want them to try things, I want them to make mistakes and I want them to be brave to be on the ball again to try again.”

Crawley are looking for their first ever win at Whaddon Road.

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The Robins are also seeking for their first league points of the season, having lost their opening game 2-1 away to Morecambe. Although they did manage to beat League 1 club Oxford United 4-3 away in the Carabao Cup.