Crewe v Crawley Town: 'It's all about the performance' - Reds boss' message after another positive week on the training ground

Reds lost 2-1 against Morecambe and had Corey Addai to thank for it not being more. Crewe are the joint third top scorers in League Two this season and have already put four past the Reds in the 4-2 win at the Broadfield Stadium in October.

But Lindsey says he and his squad have had ‘honest’ meetings this week to talk about recent results and performances, this will hopefully lead to a turnaround on the pitch.

He said: “We certainly can't play like we did in the last game against Morecambe because it would be a cricket score. Now we're really focused. We had a good debrief session in the early part of the week, and a really honest session. Players spoke out, and we've cleared a few things up, which is good.

“It's been a positive week again, which it normally is. But it's all about the performance. We've got 18 games left, we've got 54 points to play for and we feel as a group that we've got to attack every single game, like it's a cup final in order for us to get anywhere near where we want to get.

“There's hope that we take that into the game and and we really attack the game, like I think that we were more than capable of doing.”

Lindsey praised the job Lee Bell has dine at Crewe and believes they are exceeding expectations. “Lee Bell's done an unbelievable job there. think that probably a lot of people would have felt that they would be nowhere near where they are. They've got some good players mind and they've got a good way of playing.

“They play a kind of weave passage from deep, they have really good rotations on the side of the pitch and certain rollouts that we're aware of. We've got some really, really good attacking players as well. But they've been brilliant he's done a great job and fair play to them. And let's hope that we can upset the applecart a little bit on Saturday.”

In his analysis in the build up to the game, Lindsey has only looked back at Crewe’s recent games against Salford, where they lost 3-2 and Tranmere, which ended in a goalless draw, not the 4-2 defeat in October.

“I have concentrated on their past two games really because personnel has changed slightly,” he said.

“They were very, very good in both games. Like I say they have real clear rotations, rollouts, and people moving into different positions, which the players are really prepped on. And they're a good side, you know, they've got some good players, they've got a centre half, who can hit unbelievable diagonal balls from one side of the pitch to the other. And if he's in more of a central position, he can actually ping the ball both sides of the pitch. They have got some good midfield players who have got some real attacking frets as well. We have to be our very best but were looking forward to the game.

“We've spoken as a group, and we look at the fact that we've got 18 games left now, which is 54 points to play for and our destinies in our hands, we feel. All we can do is do our best in every game and almost play every game like a cup final. This one's the most important one, because it's the next one. I know it's a cliché, but it is the next one. So that's the only one we're focused on.

“We're going to try and attack the game and be aggressive with the way we play. We spoke about certain things today and yesterday and early part of the week about how we can improve on where we've been poor. And I've seen an improvement already in, in attitudes to do the hard yards on the training ground. And let's hope we see that on Saturday.”

Apart from Ben Gladwin, Lindsey has a full squad to pick from.