Gabriele Cioffi, has backed his Crawley side to bounce back from their mauling on the Wirral.

The head coach has urged his side to turn last Saturday’s shock 5-1 defeat at Tranmere Rovers into a positive as they return home.

And he has repeated his brief that Reds can be on to good things this season.

Crawley take on MK Dons today at the Broadfield Stadium, where they have taken 17 points from their last seven outings.

It is their latest test against a strong League Two promotion candidate following successive fxtures against Colchester, Exeter and Newport.

Cioffi, who has only been in charge for two months, was surprised by what he saw at Prenton Park – but can explain it.

He said: “I deeply trust my own work and that of my staff and I deeply trust the squad.

“It’s funny to say but, even after a 5-1 defeat, you can grow.

“We have done a lot of good since I came here but we have to learn from setbacks.

“When you learn to run you have to walk first, fall and walk again and then eventually you will run all the time.

“The falls are important because when you fall you know you are not ready.

“If you don’t fall then you feel invincible and, when challenges come along that you don’t expect, you can struggle. It is the same in football.

“I am really confident of a positive reaction, based on the training this week.

“We have worked at a high level. It will be a different performance and yes, I am confident that it will be a different season for Crawley.”

Reds could recall defender Bondz N’Gala after a three-match ban.