Billy Smith will be around if Crawley win promotion to the Conference.

The Reds' boss confirmed this week that he has had a change of heart after admitting earlier in his second spell with the club that he might not have enough time to devote to managing at a higher level.

The 59-year-old, who works in the London flower markets, has never managed at Conference level.

But he is ready for the new challenge, should the current leaders stay top of the Dr Martens League Premier.

Smith said: "When I came back to the club someone asked me if I could manage them in the Conference and the answer at the time was no.

"My work commitments then would have made it really tough. But there has been a decrease in my workload and I could get round it.

"A lot of managers in the Conference do it for a living, but I can't see the point of that or getting the players to go full-time, there is just too much risk involved."

Smith currently works without a contract although chairwoman Jo Gomm said this week that she would like to discuss something more permanent during the summer.

All Crawley have to do now, of course, is win promotion and their task was made more difficult on Tuesday when Kettering beat Welling 3-1 to close the gap at the top to four points.

Smith refuses to look any further ahead than his team's next game, but he admits that the Poppies are their main rivals for the single promotion slot.

"Kettering's result didn't surprise me, they are a good home side and the win we got there was one of our best results of the season.

"They still have three games in hand so they are in a great position, but Tamworth and Havant are still in contention as well. Things change very quickly, we've just got to keep going."

Reds have a ten-day break after today's trip to Ilkeston and by the time they return to action Smith hopes to have a couple of new faces on board.

With Keith Sharman, Ben Abbey, Nigel Brake, Jimmy Dack and Robbie Collins all suffering from niggling injuries, he is anxious to bring in some cover up front and on the left-hand side of the park.

"I feel we need to bring a couple of players in to give us a bit of a shake-up," he added.

"Too many players are carrying little knocks and we're not firing on all cylinders.

"I've now got a couple of weeks to have a look and see what's around."

If there is a midweek reserve team game going on in the capital, there is a fair bet that Smith will be watching and his contacts at clubs like Crystal Palace and Brentford are likely to come in handy over the next few days.

Reds progressed into the semi-finals of the Floodlight Cup on Tuesday after a 2-0 win over Ringmer and Smith can look forward to a reunion with his old pal George Wakeling at Hastings in the quarter-final of the Senior Cup on February 12.

"George and I go back a long way," said Smith.

"He's done really well there because it can be difficult to attract players because of where they are."

Crawley's reserves were also victims of the weather last weekend when their match at Carshalton Athletic was postponed.

The reserves were due at Horsham YMCA today in the Sussex Intermediate Cup quarter-final while they are also in action on Monday night in the Suburban League South Division (7.45).