At about this time last year, Crawley were pinching themselves after beating Morecambe in front of the television cameras.

A 2-1 win at Broadfield Stadium sent them to the dizzy heights of second in their debut season in the Conference.

Fast forward 11 months and how times have changed.

The Shrimpers are the visitors again but Crawley are second from bottom and fighting relegation.

Their dramatic decline can be traced back to that snow-affected game against Morecambe last February.

Reds won just one of their 11 remaining league games and started this season poorly.

Even the advent of full-time football, following the take-over by the SA Group in the summer, and the arrival of nine new players could not stop the rot. Three wins in their first 14 league games was followed by an embarrassing FA Cup exit at the hands of Ryman League Braintree and signalled the end for manager Francis Vines.

The impact of new boss John Hollins has been impressive in terms of performances but not league results.

Crawley have managed one win, three draws and three defeats since he took over.

Morecambe caretaker boss Sammy McIlroy is not surprised Reds are finding it difficult so soon after surpassing expectations.

The former Northern Ireland manager, who won the Conference title in 1995 and 1997, believes the margin between success and failure in non-league's top flight is small.

McIlroy, who took over temporarily two months ago after Jim Harvey suffered a heart attack, said: "I won the Conference twice with Macclesfield ten years ago and the standard since then has improved so much.

"We had a few challengers, like Stevenage, but now every team is a challenger.

"The standard is the best it has ever been and you cannot afford to have any bad games because teams will punish you.

"There are so many full-time teams now that everyone is as good as everyone else. You have to be full-time just to compete, it is no longer a way of getting success."

Hollins is hoping tomorrow's fixture will be the turning point of the season again but this time in a positive way.

He said: "Psychologically, dropping into the relegation zone does not make any difference to me. The situation is still the same for us now as when I arrived.

"It is very tight down at the bottom and a couple of wins will not just get you out of it but get you into the top section.

"We have been able to win in cup competitions but not in the league, which is something we have to change.

"But we have a couple of games in hand over other teams, so we are not overly concerned.

"Obviously we have to win those games but we have been steadily improving so hopefully the results will start improving as well."

Crawley will be boosted by the return of top scorer Daryl Clare and midfielder Simon Wormull.

Clare has been sidelined for two weeks with a groin problem and Wormull missed last Saturday's defeat at Hereford with a back injury. Morecambe will have new signing Stuart Barlow back in the squad. The former Everton striker scored on his debut last week but missed Tuesday's surprise 3-0 defeat against Reds' relegation rivals Scarborough with a calf injury.

Crawley will be involved in a unique BBC news item on Sunday. The players will play out scenarios to illustrate the difficult decisions referees face. The match will take place at the Broadfield Stadium between 10.30-12am and spectators are needed to create a real-life atmosphere. Admission is free.