‘It’s harsh’ – Lindsey defends Crawley Town players after boos at Bromley
Manager Scott Lindsey defended Crawley Town’s players after their travelling fans booed them off the pitch at Bromley on Tuesday night.
The Reds fell to a 3-1 defeat to the now fourth-placed side and some of the away supporters voiced their displeasure at a disappointing second-half performance.
Lindsey felt that the crowd’s reaction was strong given the circumstances.
“We’ve got no divine right to go to Bromley and win,” he said. “We set up to, of course, we always set up to win every game. I thought we were decent in the first half and we weren’t so decent in the second half.
“But I don’t think it warranted a booing off the pitch if I’m honest with you. I really didn’t and I’ve got to stick up for my players.
“Even though we weren’t very good, the effort was there. We got booed off the pitch at Bromley and I think it’s harsh.”
The boss cited the Reds’ form over an extended period to support his inkling.
He said: “I firmly believe that, since Boreham Wood, we’ve played six games and we’ve done alright in all six of them. Potentially the last five minutes of Salford we weren’t very good and we weren’t very good half a game at Bromley. Apart from that, we’ve been okay.
“Results need to improve – I'm fully aware of that and we are fully aware of that. We’re not naive enough to think that we need to do more. We have to do better, score more goals, win more games for sure.”
Bromley are one of League Two’s in-form teams and Lindsey fears his side ‘are five years away from where they are in terms of a football club’ based on factors both on and off the pitch.
“Their infrastructure, their facilities – they're miles in front of where we are at the moment,” he said. “They've got B teams. They've got under 21s.
“They've got a full Academy with over 300 players in it. Their facilities are levels above. Their playing budget will be miles in front of what we’ve got at the moment.”
Lindsey offered encouragement for the club’s future though under the ownership of Raphael Khalili.
He said: “I know what we’ll be eventually because of Raf. Raf will make this club far and beyond what Bromley are, without a doubt. I’m convinced of that because he’s a brilliant owner and is willing to make that happen. But it’s in the infancy of that and we’re not there yet. We’re nowhere near there yet but we will get there.”
Despite the supporters’ vocal criticism of the team, Lindsey called on them to get behind the Reds at the coming fixtures at Broadfield Stadium, beginning against Oldham Athletic on Saturday.
“I think at home, we’re sometimes unstoppable as a team and I think that’s largely because of the supporters,” he said. “And we need to get behind the players – we really do and support the lads.”
Crawley’s fans will likely play a big part in their upcoming fate with the Reds holding home advantage in three of their next four League Two fixtures.