Jake Edwards wants to be part of a brighter future at Crawley.

The former Exeter City striker is confident there is light at the end of the tunnel for the crisis club after helping them overcome in-form York.

Edwards had failed to score in the opening six games since arriving at Broadfield Stadium in the summer but broke his duck in cheeky fashion with a clever backheel midway through the first half.

You could almost see the confidence flooding back to Edwards after that strike and he went on to set up further goals for Dannie Bulman and Lee Blackburn in the second half.

The convincing nature of the victory was undoubtedly influenced by the fact York were down to ten men for 73 minutes following the dismissal of goalkeeper Tom Evans.

But Crawley need all the help they can get considering the problems they have had to deal with over the last six months.

This win lifted Reds off the bottom of the table for the first time this season and Edwards believes it is the first step towards rebuilding the club's morale.

Edwards said: "We have achieved a minor miracle to overcome a ten-point deficit with what has been going on.

"Having some points on the board is a big psychological boost because it wasn't nice looking at the table seeing we were on zero.

"The management team have done so well keeping the stress of the financial situation away from the players but it still affects you. There are players supporting their wives and kids who were not being paid and that is not easy to put out of your mind when you step on a football pitch.

"But the players who are here have chosen not to leave when it probably would have been easier to do so and that shows the spirit at the club. It's not been easy for a lot of people but the club appears to be going in the right direction now "I am certainly enjoying myself here. It hasn't been ideal because I am commuting from Exeter with Scott Hiley but my wife and I are looking to move up this way in the near future so I'm really hoping things work out.

"Crawley is a nice club with a good set-up which has been going through some tough times. There is a lot of potential here and it would be nice to be a part of getting the club on its feet again."

York had gone into the game looking for their fourth away win of the season and could have been two goals ahead when Evans was dismissed.

The goalkeeper could have no complaints after clumsily bringing down Bulman on the edge of the area and Evans' 19-year-old replacement Aaron Reid was picking the ball out of his net just seven minutes later.

Ben Strevens did well to cut the ball back from the byline and Edwards nonchalantly flicked it over the line from five yards.

York thought they had equalised just before at half time when Neal Bishop's header was ruled out for a push on Scott Hiley and the visitors continued to press before Reds wrapped up the game with two goals inside three minutes after the break.

Edwards was at the centre of both - his low cross forcing Reid to punch straight to the impressive Bulman who finished clinically from ten yards and then picking out Blackburn at the far post for the simplest of headers.

Edwards said: "It was a relief to score my first goal but the most important thing was to win.

"I started well in pre-season and scored a couple and I hoped it would continue when the league kicked off but things didn't go my way.

"In the first couple of games I wasn't too upset because I was hitting the post or having shots saved and the other areas of my game were okay but as the weeks have gone I started to think geez I need a goal'.

"I felt that against Northwich last week I was making the wrong decisions all the time, either taking an extra touch when I didn't need it, shooting when I should have crossed or crossing when I should have shot.

"When that happens the doubts do start to creep in a little bit so it's a weight off my shoulders to score and hopefully I can get a few more now."