Lewis Young loves it at Crawley Town and can't wait to begin pre-season training

The players and head coach return from their break next week with the opening pre-season game due soon after that away to Ryman League South club East Grinstead on Saturday, July 8.

Young, 27, is one of the longest-serving players at the club, having made 134 appearances in total over the past three seasons, including 22 from the bench.

During that time he has played under four bosses: John Gregory, Dean Saunders, Mark Yates and Dermot Drummy, who kept him on last summer despite the wholesale changes with only a few surviving from the previous season’s squad.

He has been offered a new contract for this season and although he has not yet signed it, he is now looking forward to linking up soon with Harry Kewell.He said: “I’ve really, really enjoyed it at Crawley.

“As a team we’ve under-achieved. With the quality we had we should have achieved a lot more.

“We had a lot of players come in over the summer (2016). We started well and were getting results but overall despite good performances, we didn’t get the results.”

Young began as an outright attacking player, usually on the right wing, in his first season but Dean Saunders used him to cover shortages at the back. Since then he has normally played either as right-back or right wing-back.

Young does not mind where he is selected to play to help the side and loves the good team spirit.

He said: “Wherever I’m asked to play, I’m happy to do so for the team. We’ve have a good feeling at the club over the past few years.”

Young is looking forward to working with Kewell, but was sad to see the previous head coach Drummy, who had shown a lot of faith in him, leave the club.

He said: “It’s a shame we lost the last manager (Dermot Drummy). With the new one I am sure there will be new ideas. It will be interesting to see what Harry Kewell is like and what he will bring.

“Every manager has a different take on how the game should be played.

“Dermot was a very good manager and Matt Gray too - they made us get the ball down and play the ball their way.

“We showed that at big guns like Portsmouth.

“Even at Doncaster we really took the game to them.

“I can’t see it changing much with Harry Kewell and Warren Feeney, who were both attacking players.

“I know all the boys are dying to get on the training ground.

“I had minor surgery, a double hernia operation, following the end of the season.

“So after a break I am chomping at the bit to get out to training. I am already in the gym every day.”