Crawley boss Steve Evans admits he could struggle to hold on to the player he regards as the best midfielder in the Blue Square premier.

Frenchman Thomas Pinault has been the driving force behind Reds’ play-off charge in his second full season with the club.

He has missed just two league games and scored his fourth goal of the season in last Saturday’s 4-0 win over Altrincham.

Crawley’s form – they were league leaders for five weeks earlier in the campaign – has attracted plenty of scouts to the Broadfield Stadium with Pinault, who played nearly 250 games for Colchester, Brentford and Grimsby after arriving in England in 1999, attracting lots of interest.

Evans is under no pressure from the club’s board to sell players and, if Reds are still in the play-off positions when the transfer window opens in January, he is more likely to be able to add to his squad.

But if a substantial bid was made for Pinault, who celebrated his 27th birthday earlier this month, Evans admits it could be hard to turn down.

He said: “We’re under no pressure to sell anyone but I could never say never if a bid came in for Thomas or any of my players.

“The club is on a firm financial footing, which hasn’t always been the case in the past, and we hope to be able to improve the squad if we can.

“But we have had scouts here all season, we’ve had a number of players attracting interest and Thomas could have gone back into the League in the summer.

“There has been interest in Jake Wright, Adam Quinn and Jon-Paul Pittman with one League One, several in League Two and Conference clubs all interested.”

Evans believes Pinault is a more rounded midfielder these days after adding more elements to his game.

His craft, ability to make space and pick a pass has never been in doubt. But he is now fitter and more focused than he has ever been, according to his manager.

Evans said: “This season he has been outstanding but that is because we have got him doing things in his game that he didn’t always do before.

“We have got him getting round the pitch better and closer to his opponents when we haven’t got the ball.

“By his own admission he is fitter than he has ever been. Away from football his focus wasn’t always on the game, his preparation and being the best player on the park.

“Now he works hard, does more in training and on his day he is the best midfielder in the Blue Square premier.

“We just need to make sure that those days happen more often than not.”

Pinault was part of the Crawley squad which reached the quarter-finals of the FA Trophy last season but their start to this season’s campaign has been delayed.

Saturday’s first round tie at Southern League Chesham was postponed because of a waterlogged pitch and has been re-arranged for tomorrow night (7.45pm).

The re-arrangement means Reds’ Setanta Shield quarter-final at home to Chelmsford has been postponed.