This is Crawley Town's schedule for Wembley weekend as Lindsey gives verdict on League Two play-off opponents Crewe Alexandra

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Crawley Town manager Scott Lindsey has revealed his preparations ahead of the League Town play-off final against Crewe Alexandra at Wembley this Sunday.

The Reds reached Wembley for the first time in their history after a terrific performance at Stadium Mk, as they thrashed MK Dons 5-1 to go through 8-1 on aggregate.

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It is now only Crewe who stand in Reds’ way of booking their place in League One next season, with preparation going well for the game.

On the preparation and whether he will change his tactics, Lindsey said: “Spirits really good within the camp, done some tactical stuff today, the players have trained really well so up to now all good.

Crawley Town manager Scott Lindsey arms raised in celebration during the EFL Sky Bet League 2 play-off second leg match between Milton Keynes Dons and Crawley Town at stadium:mk, Milton Keynes, England on 11 May 2024. Picture: Dennis Goodwin/ProSportsImagesCrawley Town manager Scott Lindsey arms raised in celebration during the EFL Sky Bet League 2 play-off second leg match between Milton Keynes Dons and Crawley Town at stadium:mk, Milton Keynes, England on 11 May 2024. Picture: Dennis Goodwin/ProSportsImages
Crawley Town manager Scott Lindsey arms raised in celebration during the EFL Sky Bet League 2 play-off second leg match between Milton Keynes Dons and Crawley Town at stadium:mk, Milton Keynes, England on 11 May 2024. Picture: Dennis Goodwin/ProSportsImages

“Very important [not changing system] it is key to how we work; I know there is a lot of bells and whistles in the background and a lot going on with ticket sells and merchandise and a lot of media behind it obviously and rightly so.

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“But we had to really focus on our job and focus on the training ground on what’s need to be done there in order for us to be ready to play a tough team in Crewe.”

At the press conference on Wednesday, Lindsey revealed the team’s schedule for the weekend. He said: “We are going to train down here Friday morning, then we are travelling Friday afternoon. We are going to Wembley Friday afternoon to do a familiarisation tour, it’ll give it a chance for the players to look at the pitch, the surroundings, the dressing room, as we wanted Sunday to be a gameday and not a day out.

“We go to a hotel in Kensington, we go out for food that evening, and on Saturday morning we are training at Bisham Abbey, then back to the hotel for our normal meetings and food and good night.

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“Then up quite early because it’s an earlier kick-off so our preparation for the gameday is slightly different to what it normally is, so things like pre-match has been moved so it will be quite early, meetings will be quite early and then on our way to Wembley.”

Crewe beat Crawley twice in the regular season and Lindsey knows they are a dangerous side.

He said: “That alone is a worry that they have beat us twice. The last game was in February, so we’ve played a lot of football since then, I think we’ve evolved and become a better team.

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“They’ve got good players, they’ve got good attacking threats, got really good defenders, they change shape quite a lot, there are capable of playing three/four at the back.

“Lee’s [Bell] a really good manager, I think he’s done really well this year and I really like him, had some really good conversations with him after the games and always had a drink and been respectful with one another.

“But we are focusing on us more than them.”

Lindsey has had success at Wembley, with Forest Green as assistant manager, and now has the chance to give advice to his players who will be stepping into the unknown this Sunday.

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Lindsey said: “I haven’t really spoken about Wembley to the players. What I have done is leaned on my experiences about the build-up to what we did at Forest Green, and I thought we got our preparation pretty much spot on, so I’ve fed off that on how I see the week, how I see travel arrangements, how I see the night before and things looking. I’ve been there and lost, and I’ve been there and won so I know what it can be like in both camps.

“I think the importance for me is that we want to try and play the game as a normal game of football, so I don’t want to overspill about what the place is going to be like, I want them to just not worry so much the fact that it’s a big stadium and a big crowd, I want them to go out there and do their job and do it really well.

“The players are going to feel it for themselves, they need to go out and experience that for themselves.”

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Crawley’s only negatives last Saturday was the injuries to Harry Forster and Will Wright, which forced them both to come off. Lindsey provided an update on their condition, as he said: “Still being assessed as we go, neither of them up to now have joined in training but we’re hopeful that they will be included in training on Friday.”

He has also revealed that his players are really focused and raring to go on Sunday. He said: “We are really focused, training’s been really good, and you can see that they can’t wait to get out there and play, you can feel it.

“I think they are all really focused on the game, and we are all really ready.”

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This game is not just different from any normal game for Crawley because that fact it is at Wembley, it is also on at a different time in a different location they are used to, so they have had to plan their way around that.

Crawley will play Crewe on Sunday at Wembley, with kick off at 13:00 and the game live on Sky Sports, with the winner booking their place in League One next season.

This week’s Crawley Observer has an 8-page special celebrating Reds going to Wembley – you can order a copy here.