Crawley Town boss will be able to buy players in January - but not just for the sake of it

Crawley Town have had a tough start to life in League One, only winning three of their first 14 games, which has left them in the relegation zone.

Elliot has had a hectic start start to life as Reds boss and has been hit with a number of injuries to key players including Josh Flint, Jay Williams and Dion Conroy.

And if they are looking to climb the table, they will need to strengthen the squad in January.

But speaking before the Huddersfield Town game, Elliot said they won’t just bring players for the sake of it.

“I think the January window is always an interesting one because it's the one that's less likely to get things done. It's all done last minute to be brutally honest, because the season is ongoing and situations change.

But you have to do due diligence. You always have to be aware of the sort of things you want to implement. Because of the injuries, if we can strengthen then we will, but it needs to be the right people, it needs to be people that influences the group and the right characters, especially.

This is a really good group, really young group, working hard for each other and buying into the journey.

“It's been tough, but they're still plugging away, and they're still working hard and doing everything they can and putting their bodies on the line.

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So anyone who comes in has to meet that minimum requirement and obviously, if we can find players who can come in and help us and give us more of the chance, we will, but we won't do it just for the sake of it used to be people that will help us.

“That was one of the reasons Ty [Tyreece John-Jules] coming, we identified him and he is a very, very talented lad and if we get fit, then it's going to be a big help to us.”

And Elliot will have the backing of owners WAGMI, according to vice-chairman Ben Levin.

Speaking on the CTSA’s Simply Redz podcast, Levin said: “There will definitely be a chance to bring in players in January.

“We are always looking on how to maximise and optimise and to tweak. There have been ebbs and flows in the squad since the end of the August transfer window and there have been injuries which complicates things and makes this puzzle even harder to solve.

“We are going to be working Rob very closely over the six weeks so when January 1 hits we can make the improvements we need to make and give us the best shot of staying up and getting every available point.”

You can listen to Ben Levin’s full interview on the Simply Redz podcast here.