Crawley Town star is 'technically one of the best players I've ever worked with', says Elliot

Crawley Town’s squad depth is currently on its last legs with multiple injuries and lots of players slowly returning to match fitness as well as regaining their sharpness which impacted their starting eleven in their 1-0 win over Rotherham.

Before the game, it seemed as though Reds would play with two strikers in Tola Showunmi and Will Swan but Elliot decided to stick to his formation and played Swan as an attacking midfielder. Swan was not the only player to be played out of position with Ronan Darcy playing on the wing and Jeremy Kelly as a defensive midfielder.

Speaking about some of these changes, Elliot said: “Darcy, has been very good from the outside on the wing, he's good in 1v1s and Rushy [Rushian Hepburn-Murphy] had a bit of an issue this week with his hamstring so we didn't want to risk him.

“Tolly [Showunmi] deserved his chance as well and I thought he did excellent in the first 60 minutes, it's a big step up for him and he scored goals and he deserves the opportunity.

“Swan played in the 10, I think he's someone that could be a 10 eventually, he can jump into the nine because of his energy and timing of runs and it comes with the goal.

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“Jeremy Kelly is technically one of the best players I've ever worked with at any level, genuinely incredible, so much game understanding, I think the way he controlled the game, his defensive actions and some of his passing and his decision making was fantastic.

“I'm so proud of them and what I'm pleased with is they're doing what we're asking, it's not perfect, it's not clean all the time, but we're getting there and I think we're starting to see the pictures that we want to get to.”

Next up for Crawley Town is their FA cup fixture against Lincoln City who they have already beaten once this season. However Elliot believes it will not be an easy task but wants the reward of getting through the second round and potentially facing a Premier League side.

“We are one of the smaller clubs, so the reward of getting through the second round is maybe getting a Premier League club, home or away and it's a good chance to showcase us.

“Lincoln are probably the best team we've played this year if I'm being honest so we know it's going to be a tough game, their squad depth is incredible and they've got some really good players.

“We're down to the bare bones as it is, we've got the Charlton game on the Tuesday, so we're going to have to try and manage players, we're going to have to try and win the game with an eye on Tuesday, so we must make sure we get the balance right like we did against Maidenhead.”