Crawley boss Mark Yates hopes to unearth a few cut-price gems from Sussex’s non-league clubs.

Yates is attempting to put together a squad which can challenge in League Two next season despite working with one of the smaller budgets in the division.

Reds have largely ignored the pool of talent on their doorstep in the past but Yates and assistant Jimmy Dack are determined to monitor local clubs more closely.

And they will have the opportunity to run the rule over a number of potential targets when Crawley take on Burgess Hill in their opening pre-season friendly at Leylands Park on July 15.

The Hillians have built a reputation for bringing through exciting young players with striker Greg Luer being snapped up by Hull City last season before being loaned out to Port Vale.

Yates said: “We know Burgess Hill have got two or three promising players so we will be keeping an eye on them.

“We are not football snobs who think players have to come from Premier League academies. We are more than happy to take players from the lower regions of non-league if they are good enough.

“For me it doesn’t matter where they come from so that is definitely something we will be trying to exploit.

“Jimmy knows this area like the back of his hand so he will be invaluable in identifying what is out there.”

Dack spent his entire playing career in non-league football and lives close to the Checkatrade.com Stadium meaning he has an in-depth knowledge of any untapped talent in Sussex and south London.

And the former Reds midfielder admits that polishing someone with raw ability gives him far more satisfaction than signing an established player from the Football League.

Dack said: “We haven’t got a youth team at Crawley so we have got to have one eye on the local talent. I know the area and what is out there and there is a plenty of good talent in the area.

“We will try to get one or two gems out of non-league. I love that as they have a different appetite for the game about themselves. Every day they can’t believe they are playing football for a living.

“They come in every day wanting to improve and it is great to have people like that around the camp.

“It is certainly something we will be stepping up because the resources we have got means we will have to lean on that a little bit more than in the past.

“You can get some real bargains if you know where to look. When I was at Newport we took a lad called Conor Washington who was playing at a level below Ryman division one.

“At first it didn’t look like he had a chance of making it but he worked hard to improve and after signing him for £5,000 we then sold him for £400,000 (to Peterborough).”

Yates insists he is happy with the budget he has been given at Crawley but will also try to squeeze some extra money out of the club as the summer progresses.

Reds have only got ten players on their books at the moment and Yates is keen to put together a squad of between 18 and 21 players for the start of the season on August 8.

Yates added: “I know what my limits are but I will try to push and push for the club to give me as much as they can so I can assemble the best group of players possible.

“I accept there are limits but I hope the club will get excited about what I am trying to do and say ‘go on then, you can have a bit more’ because if you don’t ask you don’t get.”

Crawley’s pre-season programme includes games against a trio of Championship sides in Fulham (July 18), Albion (July 22) and Reading (July 27).