Fixtures like Birmingham City away is why 'Little Old Crawley' are desperate to stay in League One

Reds have had some great trips this season including former Premier League sides Bolton, Wigan and Reading - but the Good Friday trip to St Andrew’s is arguably the most exciting.

Lindsey and his men go to Brum needing a win if they stand any chance of survival following a tough season in League One.

Crawley were never tipped to do anything other than struggle in a division with so many big clubs and the difference in budget, stadium and history between the Reds and the Blues could not be more vast.

But Lindsey says his side relishes these challenges and wants to continue having them going forward.

“That's why he got promoted. That's why we're in this division. You want to play these teams,” said Lindsey. “You want to play at these stadiums. That's why we're so desperate to stay in the division because of these reasons.

“Every manager, every coach, every player, everybody involved in football wants to play at the highest level they want to play at for these reasons.

“We desperately want to stay in this division for those reasons because we want to play against the likes of Birmingham City. And you look at kind of teams who are coming down or potentially could come down from the championship next season.

“It's incredible and we want to play against these teams.”

And the Reds boss believes his side can compete with them going forward. “Little old Crawley? Yeah, we are. But if we are really organised and have a real good game plan, there's no reason why we can't perform against these teams.

“And I think we've shown that in past games, definitely.

“My last game, actually, before I left to go to Milton Keynes, was against Wrexham. Big old Wrexham, massive, massive club, massive fan base, massive budget, everything.

“We were outstanding in that game. We really, really played well.

“And I'm really proud of how we played in that last game.

“There's no reason why a team like little old Crawley can't compete against these teams, given the fact that you have a good group and you coach them well, why can't we?”

Even though Reds have struggled this season, performances have been been better since Lindsey’s return and he believes the club has to look forward rather than what has happened previously.. “We're in a precarious position but the whole feel around the place, the players, there's been an uplift since I've come in,” said Lindsey,”and there's been an uplift in performance and certainly on a couple of occasions in terms of results, but we still do find ourselves in a really sticky situation.

“I think if we were to, to survive, I think it would be a different feeling next season in terms of us competing against these teams, because I would build a narrative where it is little old Crawley, but actually we're not bad. At the moment we're not bad, but we're not great either, if that makes sense. This is why these next four games, we've got to try and forget about what we've been. We've got to try and look at what we're going to be. Whether that's in this division or the one below.”