Skipper Sonny Bradley has challenged Crawley Town to put their double cup disappointment behind them and start climbing the League Two table.

Crawley’s run of three consecutive home wins came to an end last Saturday when they went down 2-1 to Luton Town in the first round of the FA Cup.

Bradley then featured as a substitute as a much-changed Reds side was embarrassed by Ryman League south outfit Hastings United in the Sussex Senior Cup at the Checkatrade.com Stadium.

The former Portsmouth defender is determined those setbacks will not derail Crawley’s improving fortunes in the league as they head to Exeter City today bidding for a sixth win in their last eight games.

Bradley said: “We were beaten by a decent Luton team last weekend but that is not going to affect us. I will be the first one to make sure that doesn’t happen because in the league our form has been great.

“We must now concentrate on the league and see how high we can finish. We have put in some very good performances so that has got to continue.

“Just because we have gone out of the Cup it doesn’t mean we will go under. We have got to play as well as we did against Luton, if not better, and make sure we get the three points at Exeter.

“With a few wins confidence grows. In the last month we have started to pick up – and that is purely down to confidence from winning games. That has got to continue.”

Reds have not been in the top half of the table since the opening day of the season when they picked up a point at Oxford United.

That could change today with victory at St James’s Park potentially lifting them as high as 11th depending on other results.

And with Crawley only five points off the play-off places and seven adrift of Portsmouth in third Bradley insists Mark Yates’ men are still capable of mounting a challenge for promotion this season despite their underwhelming start to the campaign.