Crawley are working closely with Izale McLeod to ensure they get the best out of their top scorer.

Summer signing McLeod leads the scoring charts with seven in all competitions, including a second-half equaliser against Crewe last Saturday.

The 30-year-old has started every league game apart from the draw at Gillingham a fortnight ago when he came on as substitute.

Part of that was down to necessity with a lack of attacking options while Matt Harrold was recovering from a summer knee operation.

It was Harrold who took McLeod’s shirt against Gillingham and now that he is fully fit Gregory has revealed he will manage carefully the fitness of McLeod, who is nearing 350 career appearances.

The Reds boss said: “Matt started at Gillingham when we gave Izale a bit of a breather because Izale occasionally has to be managed physically.

“He has old knees and joints. He has a lot of matches under his belt and we have to manage him physically.

“When we get what we consider is a chance to give him a breather, we let him keep out of it for ten days because playing constantly will end up breaking him if we don’t look after him properly. He misses the odd training day which is good for him.”