Former Derby County and Nottingham Forest believes 'vibes' will be better at Crawley Town this season

Saunders was interim boss of the Reds in December 2014 when they were in League One after John Gregory stepped down due to health problems and managed them until the end of 2014/15 season.

And speaking to LiveFootballTickets, the former Wales international had his say on how Reds might do this season under new head coach Colin Kazim-Richards.

The former Derby County and Fenerbahçe striker was initially put in charge for the final seven games of last season after Scott Lindsey was sacked. He picked up nine points in those seven games, including the vital 0-0 draw on the final day with Salford City, to ensure survival by just one point.

Saunders believes they can carry on that feeling and momentum into the new season.

He said: “Crawley are going to have good runs of results and bad runs of results, and that’s just part of the game when you manage a club that isn’t flush with cash. But you have to make those in-form moments count and get points on the board.

“I’d expect the vibes around the squad to be much better to start this season as Colin just kept them up, which will have given the squad a real boost and a kick up the backside given how close a shave it was.”

But he believes avoiding relegation will be the priority again. “I think their main focus has to be survival once again,” he said.

"I imagine Crawley have one of the lower budgets in League Two, which will always be the case unless they get some investment or new ownership.

"When you have a low budget, your first goal is survival. However, sometimes if you start well in a new season, priorities change, you find a couple of gems in the transfer window and next thing you know you’re comfortably mid-table, which I think would be fantastic for Colin and Crawley.”