Assistant manager Paul Raynor is confident Crawley can still challenge for promotion next season despite having their playing budget slashed by more than £100,000.

Reds owner Azwar Majeed cut funds available to Raynor and new boss Steve Evans by £2,000 a week yesterday after admitting they still owed creditors a six-figure sum.

The move means Evans will have to try to build a successful side at the Broadfield Stadium with a wage bill of just £5,000 a week,less than half of some of their rivals.

Raynor admits it will be difficult to compete against the likes of Oxford United, Torquay and Rushden and Diamonds on such a tight budget but insists Evans is the perfect man for the job.

He said: "We knew the situation regarding finances when we agreed to come to Crawley. We were working with a low budget for a long time at Boston and realise you have got to cut your cloth accordingly.

"If we could get near the play-offs with the budget we have been given it would be a fantastic achievement but the most important thing is to create some stability at the club.

"There are some extremely big clubs in this division but Steve did not have the biggest of budgets when he won promotion for Boston and is used to working under those kind of constraints."

Evans is currently unavailable for commen