Crawley Town want to put 'last week right' says Reds boss as they prepare for trip to Stockport County

Crawley Town will be looking for a reaction to last weekend’s Swindon Town shellacking as they head to Stockport County in League Two.

Having suffered their joint-biggest EFL defeat during the 6-0 drubbing in Wiltshire, the Red Devils came under heavy criticism from fans and had manager Scott Lindsey admitting it was ‘embarrassing’ and ‘toothless’.

After returning to the training ground, Lindsey has said his players have responded ‘really well’ and that he feels the Stockport match is a great test of his side’s ability.

“It’s a game we’re looking forward to. We want to put last week right,” said Lindsey. “The lads have responded really well this week and I think it’s a really good game for us to go into.

“We’ve had some in-depth meetings, analysis sessions and broken down the last result, and the players have been really honest.”

An element of Crawley’s preparations this week has been keeping perspective on the season so far, with the heavy Swindon defeat an exception to the rule.

Performances in other matches, including wins against Bradford City and MK Dons, have been positive, which Lindsey was keen to impress on his group.

“You look at the four games before the Swindon game and we’ve been outstanding in all of those games, and you argue even in the first half against Swindon we were okay,” he said.

“We’ve had ten halves of football up until now, and two of which I don’t think we’ve done that great in. Certainly the second half of Swindon, that goes without saying, and I think we could’ve done a lot better in the second half against Salford.

“If you look at that, ten halves of football, two of which we’ve not done great in, that’s 80% [we’ve done well in]. If we carry on in that vein, we’ll do alright.”

With just one clean sheet so far this season, though, one area the Red Devils can improve upon is in defence.

The addition of loan signing Laurence Maguire is an action taken to address that, with Lindsey full of praise for his new recruit.

“He’s a really good player, Laurence,” Lindsey said. “He’s really good with the football and gives us that bit of balance because he’s left-footed. Let’s see if we can include him in the game on Saturday, but we’re looking forward to him playing and hopefully he can add to what we’ve already got here.”

Looking at opponents Stockport, it is clear that last season’s play-off finalists have had a slow start to the latest campaign. Dave Challinor’s side sit 19th in the table after their first five games, but Lindsey was quick to stress how little can be learned from early impressions.

“They’ve not started great, but that doesn’t matter,” he said. “They didn’t start great last year but they ended up in the play-offs, so we know that they’re probably going to be in and around it come the end of the season.

“Let’s hope that their form starts after we play them.”

With the latest team news just confirming that Kellan Gordon and Ade Adeyemo remain out for ‘a little white yet’, Lindsey confirmed he otherwise had a full squad of players to choose from.

Going into the final day of the summer window as well, Lindsey kept his cards close to his chest regarding any further signings.

“Never say never,” he said.

“We’re always open to doing something, but if the window was to shut now, would I be happy with what I’ve got? Yes I would, but you always want more.”

Overall, Lindsey was positive about his team’s chances at the weekend. “We’re really looking forward to it. There’s no pressure on us in many ways, little old Crawley going up to Stockport who will have a big bumper crowd for sure, and have got some really good players.

“It’s going to be tough, but it’s one we’re really looking forward to.”

In the playing squad, goalkeeper Corey Addai was also on hand to provide some positivity. Addai said: “We know that Stockport are going to be a strong team. They were favourites at the beginning of the season to win the league, so we know it’s going to be a tough game.

“This week, we’ve worked really hard on the stuff that we need to improve on from Swindon, but I think we’ve got a great chance of going there and winning the game.”

There was no talk of changing the style of play that the Red Devils have adopted either, with Addai fulsome in his support of a possession-based game. We’ve played some really good football and it’s really enjoyable to play in as a player,” said Addai.

“When you see the boys in front of you keeping the ball and keeping it moving, it makes my job easier as I don’t have to save as many shots. The football we’ve been playing, we’ve been creating chances but we just need to get three points at the end of games.”

With 25-year-old Addai one of the more established members of the squad after a summer overhaul, he also commented on how impressed he has been by the new signings.

“Everyone that’s joined has been amazing, putting hard work on the pitch, day in, day out”, said Addai. “Everyone seems to be proper good people, and that’s the main thing when you’re coming into a new club, you want to set a good impression of yourself, that’s what I did last year.

“Coming into a new group of boys can be difficult, but everyone coming in has been top, so it’s a good atmosphere.”