Crawley Town boss makes rallying call to fans ahead of final three games of the season

Two of Reds’ last three home games are at the Broadfield Stadium, including the final day of the season where they face promotion-hopefuls Salford City,

And the fans have been through the mill this year with poor performances and results home and away, but Kazim-Richards wants them to be positive from the off and make a difference in these crunch games.

Reds are currently 21st in the table, level on 37 points with Tranmere and Newport but on one point off Barrow in the relegation zone.

And Shrewsbury, who mathematically secured safety last weekend, are the visitors to the Broadfield Stadium on Saturday.

"We want people to not enjoy the trip to come here,” said Kazim-Richards. “But when we [Reds fans and staff] get here, everybody's on side, everybody's on the same train. And I have to say, since I've been here, it has been like that.

"Listen, fans are emotional, fans are very invested, so when things don't go their way, sometimes you've got to hear it. All I ask is, from the start of the game, try to be positive. I know it's been a long season, I know it's been hard but you really do make a difference. When a mistake happens in the game and the fans are still there clapping and they've got the energy.

“It's a bit different to sometimes, you know, ‘here we go again’. And that's not me criticising, it's just the fact that I can give you insight into being a player when you're in this situation. It's tough and in life, being positive during tough moments is one of the toughest things to do, right? But the fans are very important.

“They do push the team on.”

And the Reds boss cited a recent game where the fans made a difference. “Look at the Gillingham game, they were there until the end and then we managed to get two goals in the 90th minute,” he said. “And then when you see Grimsby, you know, was losing 2-0, still looking around and the stadium was still full. So it does go hand in hand and I hope that it can continue.”