Crawley Town v Stevenage preview: 'We have to bounce back' says Crawley Town forward Tom Nichols as they prepare to welcome back former boss Steve Evans

Last Saturday, despite a strong first half, Crawley lost 4-1 away to Doncaster Rovers. Since their emphatic victory over Stockport two weeks ago, the Reds have now lost three in a row. With a home match this weekend for the first time since the 13th of September, a win against a strong Stevenage side could revitalise their season.

“We have to bounce back,” said Nichols, who was joint Crawley Observer’s September player of the month. “The performance against Doncaster was very disappointing. But we’ve had a good couple of results in front of the home fans so we’re looking forward to it. Hopefully there will be a good atmosphere and they (the fans) can push us over the line.”

Nichols was able to assist all three of Crawley’s goals the last time they played at their Broadfield Stadium. As one of the more experienced players, on where his side can improve on Saturday, he said, “We need to go back to basics. Run hard, fight for everything and win more individual duels. Once we nail the basics and build a strong platform, then we can play our football.”

Stevenage make the trip to Crawley off the back of a 1-0 win at home to Harrogate Town. After ten games in League Two, the Stevenage are in third with seven wins, one draw and two losses. Despite a tough side to face when trying to climb up the table, Crawley manager Kevin Betsy doesn’t care who they play, as long they perform. “I don’t matter who we play on Saturday after the last 20 minutes we had against Doncaster,” said Betsy, referring to his side’s capitulation in the end portion of last Saturday’s game. “It doesn’t matter if we’re playing a Premier League team. We’ve just got to focus on ourselves and put every single ounce of energy into this game. It’s going to be difficult, but we have to step up.”

Since the start of the season, almost every League Two side has often had no more than three days to recover from their last fixture. However, this week, Crawley will have a full week before heading back onto the pitch. On the well-earned rest his side have had alongside several injuries, Kevin said, “We’ve had a really hectic schedule throughout the last couple of months. When we get these moments to rest, it really helps the players recovery.

“The players have trained really well all week with real clarity in what we want to do. Now it’s about taking what we’ve prepared and applying it to the Saturday. If they play like they’ve trained, we should be in for a good performance.”

Crawley’s fans have faced some long trips across the country early on in this season. On the clubs strong fanbase, Betsy said, “The crowd support has given us some really good momentum and energy in the past and we need that again.”

Betsy also revealed he was close to being signed as a player for the Reds when Steve Evans was in charge. “I know Steve really well, he nearly signed me back in the day at one stage,” he said. “It didn't happen but full respect for the person in terms of being a football manager and what he has done. He’s got a really good assistant in Paul Raynor.

“They are really experienced and clear in what they want to do with and without the ball and they are very effective at this level. And it’s no surprise that after they were appointed at Stevenage they would be up in the top half of the table. It’s going to be a really difficult game but we have to step up.”

Three points against Stevenage this weekend could push the Reds five places up the table. Although they face a tough side, a match in front of the home fans will give them the best chance they’ll get.

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