Crawley boss Scott Lindsey has urged fans not to be concerned by what looks an alarming pre-season scoreline.

Reds went down 9-1 at Portsmouth in a behind-closed-doors friendly at the latter’s training ground.

They trailed 2-1 before making wholesale line-up changes.

Lindsey was pleased with that initial effort against a side he believes will go well in League One in the coming campaign.

And he said he learnt valuable lessons, with no points at stake, as the goals flew in during the later stages.

 

Speaking via the club’s official platforms, Lindsey said he considered the friendly to have been two matches.

He added: “In the first game we were good. We defended really well, blocked their attacking threats and played some good stuff ourselves.

“The first game we were really pleased with. The boys who played in that period were really good and came away with some much-needed minutes against a good side.

“And the second period was good for me because it shows that some of the players are not good enough to be part of my squad.

“I have made that quite clear in the dressing room afterwards.
“There are going to be times when you don’t play well yourself but there is nothing to stop anyone from running around.

“There were certain individuals in that second period who didn’t want to be there, they didn’t want to run, so unfortunately they can’t play for me.”