'These are the games you want to play in' says former Swindon Town striker ahead of Crawley Town's vital clash with Shrewsbury Town

The encounter at the Broadfield Stadium is a pivotal moment in the Reds’ fight for League Two and EFL survival.

With just three games left of the season, they sit 21st in the table and just a point clear of the relegation zone.

A win would move them one step closer to safety, and the former Swindon Town and Hibernian forward is eager to make the all-important impact this weekend.

McKirdy said: “These are the games you want to play in so, as stupid as it might sound, if you’re a fan, player, staff, ball-boy – you come to the game Saturday, regardless of what happens, you will remember how you turned up on Saturday.

“Luckily, we’re in the position where we can turn up and have an impact and keep people in a job – keep us in the league. So, as silly as it might sound, I think we have to be excited for it because this is what you want as a footballer – to play in games that matter.

“You’ve got to just see it as an opportunity. You can half become a hero on Saturday, whether that’s a goal-line tackle [or] just blocking someone. You might be an unsung hero. Whatever it is, you won’t forget it and it will be remembered, so you’ve got to look at it as exciting.”

A fight for their EFL status has felt inevitable all season, and McKirdy referenced the sense of impending danger that has lingered for months.

“We've got a job to do, simple as that,” he said. “I think we’ve known for a very long time now what the situation was going to be. There’s been talks about this.

“I remember being at Cambridge away months ago – before Christmas – and we looked at each other and had honest conversation. It was, ‘if we keep turning up like this, we’re going to be in a dogfight.’

“I’ve heard it for months now, and now we’re in it. It’s three games to go. We’ve got what we thought we were going to get. We’ve not managed to get out of it.”

Relegation remains a real possibility for each of the bottom-five sides, but the Reds have the benefit of having their fate in their own hands.

McKirdy said: “There are five teams that are all in a situation they don’t want to be in because we understand how important it is for everyone in the building, everyone outside of the building who supports Crawley to stay in the league.

“We’ve got three games, and it’s all good that we haven’t got out of it before. Now we’re in it, and we have an opportunity to get out of it. [In] less than three weeks' time, we’ll be sat here and whatever will be will be and people move on, etc., wherever everyone is - there’s nothing we can do about it.

“We’re in a situation now where we’re sitting here and we still have a way to affect it. If we get nine points, we stay up. It’s still in our hands. That’s how we want it. We’ve got games that are important, and I think as a footballer that’s what you want.”

On his own career, he added: “I’ve never played in a game battling it out at the bottom. I’ve not had the best of careers, but normally it’s been at the top of the league if I’ve had an important game and they’re the games you remember.

“You remember the ones that went your way, and you don’t forget the ones that don’t.”

A win for the Reds on Saturday would take them to 40 points with two games remaining – a trip to Accrington Stanley and a final-day clash with Salford City at the Broadfield Stadium.