'We only have ourselves to blame' says Crawley Town midfielder

Crawley’s relegation to League Two had already been confirmed before the final day of the season, but the Reds fought to the very end and picked up three points with a 2-1 win over Shrewsbury Town, which left them just one point away from escaping the drop.

“I think we’re proud of how we’ve finished the season,” Kelly said after Crawley’s final game of the season. “Obviously the whole season hasn’t gone the way we wanted it to, but in moments I thought we’ve been superb. But again, we probably only have ourselves to blame—we’ve left so many points on the table.”

Crawley showed a late surge of form in the final nine games of the season as they picked up 16 points out of a possible 27, but were ultimately undone by inconsistency and missed opportunities throughout long parts of the season.

“I know we can all think of certain games that we should have gotten one [point] or should have gotten three and we just let it slip. It’s tough to think about those moments when you only get relegated by a point.”

Still, the midfielder believes there were positives to take from a difficult season, and that the team showed resilience in the final stretch.

“For the most part, we know we had a group that was good enough to stay up and that hurts even more. But we can be proud of how we finished the season.”