'This time last year we would have lost that I think' - Crawley Town boss John Yems on battling win over Walsall

Isaac Hutchinson' 68th minute striker separated the sides in what was a tough battle. The win made it six points over the Easter weekend, four home wins on the bounce and three straight wins under new owners WAGMI United.

But Yems said it wasn't pretty for the spectators.

He said: "The game was one of those if I had to pay to watch, I would have wanted my money back.

"The performance? It was one of the sloggy games. I am not making excuses but we had a really tough game at Newport.

"They had a go, we had a go and we got the goal that mattered.

"This time last year we would have lost that I think, but it shows the mentality. We only had four subs today. We had three injured again, you go Sam [Matthews] come off again today. I don’t know what it is, it’s never-ending, I think I must have shot an albatross or something.

"It's a compliment to the boys, we stuck at it again and we won."

Crawley 1, Walsall 0 - player ratings

Yems was pleased to pick up another home win but he is not focussed on the current run of results.

He said: "That means nothing to me. It was only a few months ago we didn’t know what we were doing at home, we couldn’t win a game and why are we so rubbish at home, and why are we letting in too many late goals.

"We have a good squad here and if we can build on it next year and if we had had the players fit all the time this year, who knows where we could have been?."

Before kick-off, Reds announced ten players had signed new contracts. Yems said: "It gives you stability going into next season and it’s nice to be able to go on holiday knowing you are only looking for four or five players to come in.

"It proved today with some of them trying to earn contracts and that’s what you want, you want competition.

"It’s good for the Americans, they have backed everything at the minute, they have got behind us. We have got to create our own atmosphere at this ground but I understand why it was flat today because we were as flat as a pancake that had been run over.

"It’s nice you have got good people who want to be at the football club and they want to be going forward with the football club."

And on the new owners, Yems said: "They have done well, they know there are things they have to sort at the club on and off the pitch and all I can do and all we can do is what happens out on the grass, that’s all I am worried about.

"It’s buzzing. But our training ground has always been the same. The lads all want to be here. We all want to win. You see George helping in the dugout today, Tony [Craig] has been there. Everybody wants to put a shift in."

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