Hollins: I want to stay

Hollins has confirmed he will hold talks with chairman Azwar Majeed this week.

He was appointed without a contract until the end of the campaign last November and has been reluctant to discuss his long term future.

But he is now ready to commit after guiding Crawley to Conference safety.

He said: "I want to stay and get things sorted out. When you start something and are building something, you want to stay."

The former Chelsea boss has masterminded an extraordinary turnaround in fortunes at Broadfield Stadium.

Exactly two months ago Reds were second-bottom and had just suffered their sixth defeat in seven games at Canvey Island.

Now they are ten points clear of trouble following a run of one defeat in the last nine games.

But Hollins insists his Reds revolution has just started.

He said: "There is still a hell of a lot of work to do. It is not yet a situation where everybody is suddenly all right.

"If you want to put a club in order, the best time to do it is when the season is finished. You can then get things in tip-top condition for the new season.

"That is what I would like to do and we will have chats about that."

One player Hollins would like to keep is Michael Bostwick.

The 17-year-old as been a revelation since joining on work experience from Millwall last month.

Despite being a defender, Hollins surprisingly gave the youngster his first league start in central midfield against Aldershot last week and he scored the second goal in a 2-0 win.

Bostwick was on target again in Crawley's final home game of the season against Halifax on Saturday with a brace inside the first 15 minutes.

However, it has not just been his scoring touch that has caught the eye.

His overall performances have been outstanding and, coupled with his big stature, you would never guess he was taking his first steps in senior football.

He has everything to make him the complete midfielder. He is strong, composed on the ball and, as two crunching tackles moments after his second goal showed, is not afraid of the rough stuff either.

But Hollins is not optimistic about keeping hold of his new diamond.

He said: "He (Bostwick) has been magnificent. The problem we now have is that by putting him in the team, other people see him.

"He is somebody I would like to keep but obviously there will be a lot of other people who want him as well.

"At the moment he is still connected to Millwall and I don't know if they are going to release him.

"They have their problems because they have just gone down, so we will wait and see."

Bostwick scored his first after eight minutes with a powerful glancing header into the bottom corner from Danny Brown's free kick.

His second was a low side-footed effort from eight yards after he arrived late to meet a low drilled cross from the impressive Steve Burton.

The early advantage was no more than Crawley deserved for a bright start, which caught lethargic Halifax by surprise.

But they could have no complaints with the final score after an unconvincing second-half performance.

The visitors woke up after the break following the introduction of pint-sized striker Chris Senior.

The lively frontman halved the deficit on 57 minutes when he slotted under Phil Smith after being found unmarked by Tyrone Thompson's through ball.

He then set up the equaliser on 68 minutes with a low curling cross from the right which eluded the Reds back four and found Lewis Killeen sliding in at the back-post to convert from close range.

The Shaymen could have won it in the last minute had Danny Forrest not blazed over a volley from just inside the box.

Halifax now only require a point from their two remaining games to guarantee a place in the play-offs.

Hollins said: "It was an even match and I think a draw was probably a fair result regarding the chances created.

"They are a good side and you could see why they are at the top of the league. It was a good result for us and hopefully we can get back on a run again."

tom.gurney @theargus.co.uk