Crawley defender Dave Woozley insists he will fight for his place after being told he can leave the club.

Last season's caretaker boss is not part of new manager Steve Evans' plans and is free to go elsewhere.

But after signing a new one-year contract in May, Woozley wants to prove he has a future at Broadfield Stadium.

He said: "I spoke to the manager last week and he said he did not envisage me being a regular and if I wanted to go I could. But I'm happy to fight for my place because I'm confident in my own ability.

"The manager was very honest with me, I don't have a problem with him. Everyone has their opinion and I'm experienced enough to know these things happen all the time in football."

Woozley signed for Reds from Oxford United in 2005 and has been a regular in the side ever since.

The 27-year-old took on a player-manager role under difficult circumstances last November, along with fellow defender Ben Judge and former coach John Yems, following the sacking of John Hollins and helped Reds beat relegation.

Woozley added: "The same thing happened under John Hollins but I ended up playing. I'm settled at Crawley and want to stay. It is not really a problem, I will see how things go and then take it from there."

Evans has warned he may let more players leave as he tries to continue building his new-look squad.

Evans wants to add "two or three" more players to the nine he has brought in already before the Conference premier season kicks off on August 11.

Reds are due to spend five days away at a training centre next week and Evans says he might have some difficult decisions to make when they return.

He said: "We need to get two or three more players in and if we do then we may have to let one or two go.

"Moving players on is always a difficult decision but if I was frightened to do it then I wouldn't be in the job.

"We go away next week and I will be deciding which players we need to have in the squad of 17 or 18 to get the right balance.

"We have worked the players very hard so far and every single one of them bar none has given me everything they have got."

Crawley will run the rule over trialist Jamie Cook in tonight's pre-season friendly against Championship side Ipswich at the Broadfield Stadium.

The 28-year-old former Oxford and Stevenage striker finished last season with Rushden and played for Evans at Boston.

Ipswich are set to bring a full-strength squad from Suffolk, including new signings Neil Alexander, Pablo Counago and Tommy Miller as well as former Albion full-back Dan Harding.

Reds opened their pre-season programme with a goalless draw against MK Dons ten days ago and Tractorboys boss Jim Magilton is expecting a difficult test against Evans' new-look side.

He said: "We have played a few teams from the Blue Square Premier (Conference) because we know we are going to get a tough game.

"The problem with going abroad and facing teams out there, it is far too easy to get caught in a false sense of what level the squad is at.

"Playing sides like Crawley is a real test, which you might not get playing one of these sides abroad.

"It's like playing a league game and we know our opponents are going to be competitive. We played a couple of pre-season fixtures against Steve Evans when he was at Boston and they were both good, honest games.

"I don't know too much about the Crawley squad but I went a few times to watch Boston while Steve was in charge and I was a big fan of his team. They played some good football and I am sure he will do an excellent job at Crawley."

Reds prepared for the game with an extra training session on Sunday after their friendly at Nuneaton was washed out.

Evans said: "We don't normally train the players hard two days before a game but we had no choice because of what happened Saturday.

"There will still be one or two stiff and tired limbs but it is ideal preparation for the season. Playing a team of such quality will be a very good test for us and gives our fans a chance to see their team take on top class players."

Season ticket holders and all under-16s get in free, while all other prices have been reduced to £10 for adults and £7 concessions for seating and £7 adults and £5 concessions for terraces.

Ipswich squad from: Neil Alexander, Alex Bruce, Billy Clarke, Pablo Counago, Jason De Vos, Owen Garvan, Dan Harding, Danny Haynes, Alan Lee, Sylvain Legwinski, Tommy Miller, Richard Naylor, George O'Callaghan, Gary Roberts, Shane Supple, Jonathan Walters, Fabian Wilnis, David Wright.

Will Reds miss Woozley if he leaves the Broadfield Stadium? Leave your thoughts below.