Crawley's exodus of players continued today with the departure of club captain Ian Simpemba to Aldershot.

The defender has completed a loan deal with a view to a permanent move.

He is the third high-profile player to leave Reds following the club's controversial decision to cut wages in half and put the whole squad up for sale. Influential midfielder Simon Wormull left for Lewes and top scorer Daryl Clare is serving a 14-day notice to quit the Broadfield Stadium.

Crawley boss John Hollins said: "Ian has gone and there was nothing I could do about it. It was not as if we didn't need him any more but he decided he wanted to go and because of the current situation we can't stop players going.

"If a club phones and asks if a player is available then I have to say they are. It is then up to the player if he wants to go or not. That is the way it is and we just have to get on with it."

Simpemba joined Reds from Wycombe Wanderers at the beginning of last season and was the current supporters' player-of-the-year. He made 30 appearances this season but had lost his place in recent weeks due to the form of centre backs Chris Giles and Leo Mendy.

Simpemba has initially signed on loan for the Shots because he did not hand in a 14-day notice in time to beat the March 23 transfer deadline for Conference clubs.