Crawley have been told they must develop a killer instinct if they are to avoid a season of mediocrity.

Reds have scored just three times in their opening five league matches – the lowest tally in the division – and have failed to hit the target in their last two outings at Sheffield United and MK Dons.

It is a familiar problem for boss John Gregory to try to solve with only the bottom three last season – Carlisle, Shrewsbury and Stevenage – scoring fewer than the 48 goals Crawley managed.

Gregory has been largely satisfied with the performances of his new-look side in the opening month of the campaign but knows they have to begin taking their chances to achieve his target of a top-eight finish.

The Reds boss said: “We do lack a bit of a killer instinct in the team. We have created enough opportunities but you have got to stick them away.

“On Tuesday (against Cambridge) we should have scored four or five in the second half and made the game a lot more comfortable.

“I’ve been pretty happy with most aspects of our play this season but that is one area that definitely needs to improve.

“If you take your chances it makes everything else so much easier.

“I spoke to Karl Robinson (MK Dons boss) after the game last Saturday and he is experiencing the same problem.

“They should have scored two or three in the opening 15 minutes when they were on top and then they wouldn’t have been hanging on for the rest of the game.

“We’ve done okay so far but we don’t have the amount of points we deserve because we haven’t made the most of the chances we have created.

“If Izale (McLeod) had scored the penalty at MK Dons we probably would have won that game but we ended up losing it and that shows how important taking your opportunities is.”

Reds will be bidding to boost their goal tally today against a Rochdale side who have made a disappointing start to the season following promotion from League Two.

Crawley have found the target in all four of their home games so far – although they required extra-time to do so against Ipswich in the Capital One Cup – and their only defeat in their last eight games at the Checkatrade.com Stadium was the 3-1 setback against Bradford City.

“Every club expects to do better at home than away and we are no different,” said Gregory.

“I’ve been quite happy with our home form since I took over and it is something we need to continue if we are to be successful. We’ve had some great results on our own patch against the likes of Leyton Orient and Wolves last season and have done okay so far this year.

“Not only is it important to do well in front of your own fans but it also gives you a bit more confidence when you go away too.”