'Didn’t want to be there and didn’t want to run' - Scott Lindsey says some players will not play for Crawley again after 9-1 defeat at Portsmouth

The Reds played four 30-minute halves against Pompey – the first two of which ended 2-1 to the League One side but the second half was a far more convincing 7-0 win.

"The second period was good for me because it shows some of the players are not good enough,” Lindsey said in a post-match interview with the club.

"[They are] not good enough to be a part of my squad and I made that quite clear in the dressing room afterwards.

"There’s time when you don’t play well yourself but there’s nothing that stops you running around.

"There were certain individuals out there today in the second period who didn’t want to be there and didn’t want to run. Unfortunately they can’t play for me.”

The match was Crawley’s third friendly in five days – following midweek games against Dover and Crystal Palace.

Lindsey was impressed by the performance level in the first half against Portsmouth.

“First game, we were good,” he said. “We defended really well and we played a lot of good stuff ourselves.

"They pressed us so it was slightly different to what we faced against Crystal Palace, who sat off us a little bit more so it gives us room to play.

"Today, they pressed us and came after us. To start with, I think we found that hard but we got into a rhythm and got into good areas.

"We played through their press on a number of occasions. We scored a fantastic goal from that.

"The first game, we were really pleased. They scored a penalty right at the death to make it 2-1.

"The boys who played in that period were really good and came away with some much needed minutes against a good side. They were full strength.”

News of a 9-1 defeat has sparked outrage among Crawley fans on social media – some wishing they were never told about the result.

However, Lindsey said ‘there is no room for any concerns at all’.

"As far as I’m concerned we lost the game 2-1,” he said. “Second half, we lost 7-0.

"I was really pleased with the way the boys played in the first half of that game. Second half was nowhere near it.

"We wanted to get two 60 minute games in. Unfortunately the playing squad isn’t too big and we had to take players with us who are not capable of playing at this level.

"It was a great exercise because it goes to show the boys who will be more playing are more than capable. The boys who are not going to be anywhere near it are nowhere near it.”

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