Nick Burton today revealed his delight at swapping a relegation battle with Farnborough for a play-off push with Crawley.

The 29-year-old defender signed from the Conference strugglers yesterday in a swap deal which saw Kevin Hemsley go in the opposite direction.

Burton's departure from Cherrywood Lane ended a turbulent two years at the troubled Hampshire club where he was captain and last year's player-of-the-year.

They went through three managers with the latest - Dean Austin - sacked last week. There was a power struggle over the ownership of the club last summer and they twice almost went out of business.

The problems are not over with Farnborough facing a winding up order if they do not pay around £200,000 to the Inland Revenue.

As well as the troubles off the pitch, Farnborough have been fighting relegation throughout Burton's time there. They are currently third-from-bottom and have not won a league game since November.

Burton said: "It is great to be joining a club where you can just concentrate on playing and have a good chance of winning.

"I had not been enjoying my football for a while at Farnborough. Over the last couple of years there has been a lot of changes with managers and there was also the boardroom battle.

"We went for a few months without getting paid, a lot of the better players were sold and they were talking about the club going out of business.

"There are a lot of issues which still haven't been sorted out and as a player it is very unsettling.

"To go from that to Crawley is brilliant and hopefully I can get back to enjoying playing again and help them reach the play-offs."

Burton had no hesitation in joining Reds once manager and old friend Francis Vines came knocking. The two played together six years ago at Hampton and Richmond where Burton was captain.

The former Torquay professional said: "I have known Francis since our Hampton days and have kept in contact over the years.

"I've followed his career throughout and have seen what a great job he is doing at Crawley. I've heard a lot of good things about the club and I know how good the team is because I played against them only about a month ago."

Burton will go straight into the squad for tomorrow's crucial home game against play-off rivals Halifax who are two points behind second-placed Crawley.

Reds could be without five players because of injury and suspension. Charlie MacDonald and Paul Armstrong are serving one-match bans after picking up their fifth bookings at Scarborough last week.

Danny Davidson is out with a knee injury, Mo Harkin (calf) and Rob Kember (hamstring) are both doubts but Sacha Opinel returns from a four-match suspension.

Vines said: "It is a big match for us and it is pity we are down to the bare bones. We have got a good squad but when you are missing five players you always suffer.

"Hopefully the players will show me that they should have been playing in the first place."

Meanwhile, Vines has appealed against an FA charge of using threatening and abusive language during Crawley's 2-0 defeat at Woking last month.

Crawley are waiting for a date for the appeal to be heard.