Crawley Town manager addresses busy schedule and reveals what players have to do to 'keep the shirt'

The former Newcastle United goalkeeper took over as manager following Scott Lindsey’s departure to MK Dons. After he was unveiled, Elliot watched Tuesday night’s defeat to Mansfield Town from the stands.

After a couple of days of training sessions, he is now in control and leads the side out for the first time as manager as Wycombe on Saturday.

That is quickly following with the EFL Trophy group game against AFC Wimbledon at the Broadfield Stadium on Tuesday before Shrewsbury Town visit on Saturday, October 12.

Reds had a great run in the EFL Trophy last season, reaching the quarter-finals before losing to eventual winners Peterborough. In the group stages Lindsey used the squad to it’s fullest, and it looks like Elliot will do the same, especially as he assesses all the players early on in his tenure.

"I think it's a great opportunity to give everyone a chance to get the pitch and show what they can,” he said. “The team we go with on Saturday isn't my team or my best XI, I genuinely believe it's the squad that's going to get us there. If you look at every team over the course of the season, from the first starting XI of the season to the last, I guarantee there are four or five changes all the time, even multiple around the squads.

“All I want to see is the lads to get the opportunity Saturday to take it and then the lads who don’t show why they should be in the team, why they're going to add to the team on Tuesday. Hopefully we will be able to manage it so on Tuesday the lads who need minutes or didn't get as many minutes on Saturday are able to get some. We want to be as fair as possible.

“I think it's up to the lads for them to impress and know if they get the shirt, to keep it. And if they don't, they need to work their way into the team, and when they get the opportunity, they need to take it.”

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Elliot was asked if he liked the fact the schedule is so busy as he looks to settle in as Reds boss. He said: “It'd be nice to spend time on the training pitch, but then the games is where you really learn and you get the detail and obviously with the amount of games as well I think it'd be good that we'll probably see a lot more of the players. Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday means the squad becomes even more important and I have relayed that to the lads.

“I am always someone that likes to use the squad to keep it fresh. And the big thing for me is that, in terms of the scheduling especially, is that we just need to be adaptable, we need to be able to reset and go again and we need to keep that freshness in our minds and our bodies.

“Saturday is our first game of the season really, in the nicest possible sense for us. And no matter the outcome, no matter how well we play or what the score is, I want it to be the case that it’s our worst performance of the season because after every week we should be getting better and better, meaner and cleaner in terms of our understanding and that's whether we win or whether we lose or draw, because I think the processes we want to go through the results will come with that.

"We want to make sure we start this Saturday right. I can't ask the lads to take on all the detail but what I can ask is that they try and do everything we ask. Obviously, the one non-negotiable, which they've got in abundance, is their work rate, the intensity and trying to do the right thing. I’m looking forward to the game looking forward to not just this game, but I'm looking forward to working with the lads on a regular basis.”