Crawley boss John Gregory has vowed to stand by defender Paul Connolly even if he is hit with a lengthy ban by the Football Association.

Connolly has appealed against a charge of violent conduct following his clash with a supporter in the 1-0 defeat at Brentford last Tuesday.

The FA has made it clearthe standard three-game ban would be insufficient, meaning there is a chance Connolly could be suspended for the remainder of the season.

Gregory said: “We are all supporting Paul 100%. We will stand by him no matter what happens.”

Billy Clarke could also miss the rest of the season with a broken hand that kept him out of the 2-0 victory at MK Dons on Saturday.

Clarke picked up the injury in the early stages of the defeat at Griffin Park and will definitely not feature in the home game against Tranmere tomorrow.

Gregory added: “It’s quite a nasty one so he could possibly be out for a while.”