There's more to come from new Crawley Town head coach, says former Crystal Palace and Arsenal winger

Kazim-Richards, 39, and Gray, 46, replaced sacked boss Scott Lindsey and his assistant Neil Smith in late March with the Reds sat 21st in League Two.

The new coaching staff gained nine points from seven games to avoid relegation to the National League, finishing 22nd and just a point above the bottom-two.

Gray, speaking to the press for the first time since his arrival, backed the Reds boss to deliver even more given a full pre-season to get work.

He said: “I think he's shown what he can do in the seven games, taking on a team that wasn't his players and getting a song out of them and getting them obviously to play a certain way, different to what they were playing.

“So, I think that's positive, and then now he gets the team that he wants and he has the time to build and put everything into place. I think you will see more of what we saw in the seven games.”

The former Arsenal and Birmingham City coach also clarified his pre-existing connection to Kazim-Richards.

“We've known each other for quite a long time,” Gray said. “We've got friends in common, obviously we both played, and then I've been coaching Kyle - one of his kids - a bit at Birmingham.

“So, we got very close there as well because [of] his journey in football and trying to help him, and obviously I was at Arsenal previously - Colin was at Arsenal also.

“We spoke a lot about that stuff and our coaching journeys and things like that. So, we've been very close for quite a long time now.”

The new Reds boss has remained a composed figure on the touchline and speaking to the press so far, and Gray was asked how he compares to his colleague.

He said: “We're different in regard to, I'm very quiet. Colin's a bit louder than me. He's quiet as well, but he's louder than me.

“We have different ways of doing things, but at the same time we think the same - how we want the game to be played, how we see the game being played.

“And we both want to help players and give back from our experiences. So, I think that's a big part of it.”

On the role of assistant, he added: “To me, the way I look at things and the way I coach, I don't really deal with the hierarchy thing. It's not a hierarchy system. I think everybody's important and it's about what we do for the players.

“It's not about me and my ego or the head coach. It's about giving the players the information, what they need to be able to go and perform and to implement what we're asking them to do and execute. So, again, I don't think about, ‘oh, I'm an assistant coach.’ We're a coaching team.

“So, that's how me and Colin look at it. We're both on the same page. I know he's the head coach. I know my role. I know that he's the head of the team, but he doesn't need to shout about it. We just have conversations and he'll have the final decision on what we do, but we discuss things.”

Gray has remained a rather elusive figure since his arrival, and the 46-year-old provided some insight into his style of coaching so far.

He said: “I think I'm one of those people that in the moment, if I feel something needs to be said, I will say it. And I did do that a few times in the seven games. But obviously, I'm not a person that has to take it. It's not about being centre-stage.

“I just want to give the players the information that I believe is beneficial to them, or encouragement or whatever that may be, or belief. Because sometimes I think that's more, trying to give confidence to players.

“I think sometimes, especially in the situation we were in, it's about giving them confidence to go out there and perform and not feel, not worry about mistakes. So, that's more what I would try and do and, as I said to you, I did that a few times.”