Boss Dean Saunders believes he needs to sign at least five new players by the end of the month to steer Crawley clear of relegation.

Reds go into Saturday’s home clash with MK Dons two points adrift of safety having gone 11 games without a win.

Saunders took over on an interim basis from John Gregory after the Boxing Day defeat to Leyton Orient with the 60-year-old due to undergo open heart surgery in the next few days.

The former Liverpool and Albion striker initially said he would need to bring in a “few” additions to revive Crawley’s ailing fortunes.

But after assessing his options since the goalless draw with Colchester in his first game in charge he has revised that opinion and admits the squad needs a major overhaul Saunders believes that an injection of up to seven players is necessary to give Reds a chance of staying up, with four of those capable of going straight into the first team.

However, he admits that Reds may have to wait until the final few days of the transfer window to do the majority of their business leaving his options thin for the upcoming games against MK Dons, Rochdale and Fleetwood.

Saunders said: “I need to bring in three or four starters because we are short all over the pitch. I’d also like another two or three squad players with a bit of potential who might be able to help us at some stage.

“That is what I would like in an ideal world but we’ve got to start with one. It is early yet as there are players who are not available now that will be later in the month.

“We’ll probably do a lot of our business near the end of the window but I am trying to get somebody in by the weekend although I don’t want to bring people in who won’t improve us.”

Saunders has identified defensive cover as the most urgent priority after being forced to play Marvin Elliott, Lewis Young and Bobson Bawling out of position in the back four against Colchester.

Sonny Bradley is expected to be fit to return for the visit of MK Dons on Saturday but Dean Leacock and Ryan Dickson are both set to miss out again while Lanre Oyebanjo remains a doubt.

Saunders said: “We had 12 players training yesterday. It is not quite a crisis injury-wise but it is as close as you can get to it so we’ve got to get some players in.

“We only had one fit defender last Sunday (against Colchester) so I’m looking to bring in more defenders if possible by the weekend.”

Meanwhile, Saunders is still deciding whether to bring in his own coaching staff, with Paul Groves continuing in his role as head coach for the time being.