Crawley defender Santos Gaia insists he will have no split loyatlies this weekend when he comes against the club he was with just a fortnight ago.

Reds entertain a Weymouth side who lost virtually their entire first-team squad – Gaia included – when they failed to pay their wages for seven weeks.

Only two of his former team-mates are expected to line up against Gaia at the Broadfield Stadium on Sunday with the rest of the side made up of trialists and loanees.

Weymouth were forced to field their youth team against Rushden and Diamonds a fortnight ago and were hammered 9-0 although a stronger side only lost 2-0 to York last weekend.

Gaia said: “I feel sorry for what has happened, especially for the supporters who were very good to me at Weymouth.

“But I went seven weeks without getting paid and it was very difficult. I have a family to look after and need to support.

“So when the chance came I was happy to come to Crawley. They are in a good position and I am here to try and help them get into the play-offs.”

Although Gaia conceded the free-kick which enabled Cambridge to equalise in last Saturday’s 1-1 draw it was nonetheless an impressive debut by the 30-year-old, who played in Brazil’s under-17 team before trying his luck in England.

He stood out again on Tuesday, marking Wrexham’s big target man Jefferson Louis out of the game as Reds overcame horrendous conditions to grind out an impressive 1-0 win.

But perhaps it is not that much of a surprise that Gaia slotted in so easily alongside Jake Wright in the heart of Crawley’s defence.

He had a spell with the Shaymen at the end of last season before linking up with the Terras and played alongside Wright and Adam Quinn.

He has become the fifth ex-Halifax player signed by Steve Evans and admitted: “I have a good relationship with all the Halifax players.

“I played some games with Jake and he is a fine player. Playing with him before gave me extra confidence before the Cambridge game and hopefully it showed in my performance.”

After picking up seven points in their last three games there is a growing belief among the Crawley squad that they can make a late charge for the play-offs.

They still have to play most of their rivals with a trip to Kidderminster looming on Tuesday and games against champions-elect Burton, Histon, Stevenage and Torquay to come.

“We have some big games coming up but I think we have a great chance of making the play-offs,” added Gaia.

“What I like about us is that the squad is altogether. They are a great bunch and we all believe we can get into the top five. There is nothing to fear.”

Quinn is available against the Terras after serving a two-match suspension but he might have to settle for a place on the bench, despite scoring ten goals from centre-half this season.

Only Jamie Cook (groin) is sidelined and assistant manager Paul Raynor is relishing the strength in depth Reds have for the run-in.

“On Tuesday against Wrexham it was great to look behind us and see guys like Thomas Pinault, who is the best passer of the ball at the club, sitting there and someone who could come on and change the game for us,” said Raynor.

“We’re going to need everyone because we have a tough schedule coming up but it’s great to have that competition for places again.”

Crawley’s Setanta Shield southern semi-final against Ebbsfleet United last night was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

Crawley (from): Rayner, Forrest, Gaia, Wright, Rents, Wilson, Weatherstone, Bulman, Malcolm, Shaw, Matthews, Quinn, Pinault, Rankin, Giles, Killeen, Hurren, Gill.

Weymouth (from): Evans, Vincent, Mawer, Trickland, Hoyte, Collins, Reed, Dixon, Crook, Appiah, Richardson, McKechnie, Tribe, Babson, Sibley, Agera.