Crawley boss Richie Barker has told his players to forget their forthcoming FA Cup tie against Reading and focus on getting their league form back on track.

Reds were pitted against Premier League opposition in the competition for the third year in a row following their 3-0 victory over Chelmsford City last weekend.

While Barker acknowledges the third round tie has created a buzz around the club he is wary that it could prove a distraction as Crawley bid to end a run of six games without a win in League One.

Crawley take on struggling Shrewsbury Town at Broadfield Stadium today and have five more league games before the visit of the Royals on January 5.

Barker said: “When we met up after the draw had been made nobody even talked about it and it won’t be mentioned for a while. It is another six games away so we are not even considering it at the moment.

“We have got what is our hardest month of the season coming up and we have got to be fully focused on that. The players haven’t brought up the cup draw all week which is good as it shows they are concentrating on the league.

“We have just got to try to forget about it as it is so far down the line.”