Crawley Town's final day showdown is bigger than Wembley, says skipper Jay Williams

The Reds captain started in that 2-0 victory over Crewe Alexandra two years ago and returned to the club last summer after a six-month stint at MK Dons.

Life at the Broadfield Stadium couldn’t be further from the jubilation of that occasion, with the 22nd-placed Reds at risk of footballing oblivion – relegation from the EFL.

A win on Saturday at the Broadfield against the Ammies will secure their League Two safety, but if they match or better Harrogate Town’s (23rd) result against Barnet at the weekend, they should also survive.

Bottom-club Barrow are three points adrift and eight goals worse off with the Reds, while Newport County (21st) and Tranmere Rovers (20th) are a point above Crawley on 40 but with worse goal difference too.

Williams said: “I think of all the games we've been a part of these past two or three years since I've been in, I think this one takes the top.

“[It’s the] most important one I've been involved in, and I'm going to treat it that way and make sure everyone else does as well.”

When asked how staying up would compare to that historic promotion, he added: “No comparison. This Saturday, when that whistle goes and we've won, it won't compare.

“It will be a much better feeling than Wembley because there's so much more on the line.

“Obviously, it's in the past now. Wembley's gone, but I just think this has a massive, massive significance on the future of this football club and it just means more.”

Players like top-scorer Harry McKirdy have previously stressed the importance of preserving the Reds’ EFL status for the entirety of the club’s staff.

“Careers are on the line,” Williams said. “Jobs are on the line, but I think your personal career has to be an afterthought to this game.

“This game is the most important thing, and it has to be attacked that way. It can't be heads down.

“It can't be thinking about, ‘am I going to get a contract or not?’ It doesn't matter now. All that matters is Saturday.”

The Reds captain paid tribute to the club’s fans and gave a rallying cry as the Broadfield approaches a sell-out crowd this weekend.

“They've been unreal,” he said. It's hard to explain because they've been following us through a really, really bad time and we just haven't been at the level where we needed to be, and we just need them now.

“We need them more than ever. I want to walk out there and it to be rocking, rocking more than it did in play-offs because this is more important than that.

“This is way more important than that, and I just hope whether they're new to coming to Crawley or have been coming for years - just bring the noise because we need you.”

Williams was made captain in January after ex-skipper Dion Conroy’s exile from the squad, but the midfielder stressed the role the entire squad has to play on an occasion where ‘there is no space for nervousness.’

He said: “I think there's a lot of leaders in there. I don't think it comes down to one person.

“I'm obviously the one that wears the armband, but you've got so many leaders in there and we're a collective. We're not one person. So, it's been good, but we're together in that.”

Almost everyone inside the Broadfield on Saturday will have one eye on Harrogate’s game against Barnet, as well as Newport’s trip to all-but-relegated Barrow.

Tranmere host play-off challengers Grimsby Town in another contest that is sure to shape the landscape at the bottom of League Two this weekend.