'Done by Tuesday' - Crawley Town boss is holding talks with players as he shapes squad for next season

Reds relegation to League Two was confirmed when Burton drew 1-1 with Wigan, and now all eyes are on who will stay and who will go this summer.

And Lindsey has been working on that since his return to the club.

“I’ve literally assessed the squad as I’ve gone along from day one really to now and still are doing,” he said.

"I kind of know who’s going to help us moving forward and who won’t. And I’ll be having meetings with players next week and trying to put a squad together, which I don’t think we’re far away from having a squad already for next season. I think if we keep the players that we want to keep and we add one or two more, I think we’ve got a really good squad.

“I think the players have done really well. And I also think that if we get that team together now, I think they’d do well in League Two. I really do. If we can add one or two more and tidy it up a bit and streamline it, which is what we’re working really hard behind the scenes even now.”

One thing Lindsey has installed since he has returned is belief in everyone, especially the players, whose performances have really impressed him.

He said: “I’ve been really impressed with the players. I’ve got to be honest with you, I think the players have given me more than what I expected, if I’m honest with you.

“To say I’ve come to a team that are in the relegation zone and for them to perform like they have, I’m really surprised.”

As everyone who follows Crawley knows, the play-off winning squad was decimated last summer, with seven members leaving in the two months after the final and Jay Williams and Ronan Darcy leaving in the January window. The fans will be hoping the same doesn’t happen again this year.

But has Lindsey been given assurances by owners WAGMI that won’t happen again? “We’re trying,” he said. “There’s a couple of players that are out of contract that we want to keep. The fact that we’ve gone down a division might be a factor in that. So, we’re trying our hardest to do our best to keep the players that we want to keep.”

And Lindsey is confident the retained and released list will be done by next week. “I’m holding meetings today with players. I’m holding meetings again on Tuesday next week with players. And then it’ll be pretty much done by Tuesday evening. It’ll be all kind of done in our minds,” he said.

Lindsey has also had conversations with the board regarding the relegation. “They kind of was desperate, like I was, like we all was, to stay in the division. And they feel I ‘ve done a good job since I’ve come in.

“They pretty much said they don’t think I could have done much more than I’ve done. And the message is to get ready for next season. Let’s have a another go, you know, that’s all we can do.”