- 2 years ago
Crawley Town take on Newport County in League Two on Saturday. Scott Lindsey looks ahead to the game, gives an update on Kellan Gordon, and talks about Raf Khaleel and social media
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00:00 Scott, thank you for joining us. Another exciting game coming up this weekend against Newport.
00:03 Can I get your thoughts ahead of that one?
00:05 Yeah, again, we're looking forward to it, obviously.
00:08 You know, home, we like to be at home.
00:11 Tough opposition.
00:14 Graham's got really at it, which I know kind of he would.
00:17 And I know the assistant manager really well, Joe, and they get them at it.
00:23 They get them proper at it and they will be aggressive.
00:28 You know, a lot of chaos, middle of the pitch and two really good forwards and good players as well.
00:34 You know, they've just got good know-how, but this will be probably, I think, our toughest test.
00:39 Yeah, that's a lot of compliments paid to Newport, isn't it?
00:42 Considering some of the teams we played, obviously, we played some of the ones that have been predicted to finish right,
00:46 they're at the end of the season, but for you to think that's going to be our toughest test,
00:49 you know, I'm sure you'll be telling the lads that this is going to be no easy game, is it?
00:53 No, I always thought that, you know, looking at the fixtures,
00:55 everybody looked at them first six fixtures we had and, you know, obviously they're very tough anyway.
01:00 And I always looked at that seventh one and looked at Newport and thought,
01:03 "Oof, we're not out of the woods when we play them."
01:06 Let me tell you that now, because I know Graham really well.
01:09 I know Joe even better.
01:11 I used to live with Joe, the assistant manager, and I know what characters they are
01:15 and what they bring to a management staff and how they get the players,
01:21 the environment that they set, you know, the players will be really front foot and at it, let me tell you.
01:27 So, yeah, it'll be a tough game.
01:28 Yeah, and we saw plenty of the lads get some minutes on Tuesday night as well.
01:32 There were some extra selection headaches there were, as you said in your post-match,
01:35 some very impressive performances, weren't there?
01:37 There was, yeah, no, that's what I want.
01:38 You know, I've made that quite clear that I want every single player in the building to be really at it
01:44 and give me a problem, you know, and that's what we've created.
01:47 The environment at the training ground is brilliant.
01:50 You know, everybody's on it.
01:52 Everybody understands how we play.
01:54 Everybody understands how we defend.
01:56 Everybody understands how we attack.
01:59 We do in-depth analysis kind of sessions where every single player is involved.
02:04 When we do, you know, team shape, we swap bodies around,
02:07 so everybody understands roles and responsibilities for each position.
02:11 And we've created that kind of learning environment and an environment where we know that each player,
02:17 whenever we make changes and whatever changes we make, the side will never get weakened.
02:21 And I think that was clear to see Tuesday night.
02:23 How's the preparation been this week?
02:25 Obviously, have you had to make any adaptions?
02:27 Because we were down at the training ground this morning and it was very hot.
02:30 And I know, obviously, you do a lot of work with the sport scientists.
02:32 Have you had to sort of make any adaptions or is it just a simple message of just keep hydrated?
02:37 No, no, we never change what we do because of the weather.
02:41 You know, obviously, we make sure that the players are hydrated anyway, but we have a clear plan.
02:46 I probably have a month in advance of kind of each day,
02:50 what distance we want to cover on each day for probably a month in advance.
02:55 We don't veer away from that very often.
02:58 You know, we kind of knew this week would be slightly different because of the game Tuesday.
03:01 So we knew we had a group in training Tuesday.
03:04 Whilst the group who played Tuesday night was preparing for that game,
03:08 they trained differently on Monday.
03:09 And then kind of today was coming together of both groups
03:13 and pretty much doing everything together today and tomorrow.
03:17 Obviously, the final touches on the preparation for the game Saturday.
03:20 But no, we never really veer away depending, you know, in terms of the weather.
03:25 We never kind of get away from that. Just make sure the players are hydrated.
03:29 We speak a lot about these distances that you want them to hit as well.
03:32 How have they been performing this season in terms of those targets?
03:35 Because obviously last season we spoke a lot about it as well.
03:38 And, you know, when you came in as one of your priorities this season,
03:40 have they been sort of hitting it, you know, flawlessly so far?
03:43 It's just incredible. Like, the distances that the players have been hitting this year
03:47 is almost like we've got an extra player on the pitch from last season.
03:53 It's around 10k more.
03:57 You know, it's almost like we've got an extra player on the pitch.
04:01 Maybe that's something to do with that extra time that's being played this season.
04:09 I don't know what the extra time was on Saturday and again on Tuesday night,
04:13 but it wasn't loads more.
04:14 So I just think that the boys are fitter and running harder than we was last year.
04:19 Definitely. Hi Scott.
04:22 You said about Newport possibly being your toughest so far.
04:25 What specifically about their play do you think makes them going to be potentially the toughest opponent?
04:31 Just the attitude of the players that Graeme and Joe kind of create with.
04:36 They're all out ready to win every game.
04:38 You know, they'll be front foot, aggressive, very chaotic in moments,
04:43 you know, in terms of not in a bad way, in a good way, where, you know,
04:46 they block the middle of the pitch up.
04:48 They have a lot of bodies in the middle of the pitch and they want to fight for every ball that lands.
04:54 The ball goes forward and they want to fight for the balls that go forward.
04:58 You're just kind of an aggressive team.
05:01 And I think that'll be hard.
05:02 You know, we've got to try and play within, you know, our calmness within the chaos as it were.
05:08 We've got to try and play our way and pick passes and make sure that we play our way still,
05:13 which we will. We'll never get away from what we do,
05:16 but we know it's going to be a real kind of challenge.
05:18 And on the flip side, do you think they look at you and think,
05:21 'God, this could be our toughest test so far this season'?
05:23 I don't know. You'd have to ask them that.
05:25 I don't know, you know, I wouldn't want to comment on what they think about us.
05:28 I think we just got to concentrate on what we need to do.
05:31 And, you know, whilst we concentrate on what we need to do,
05:34 we kind of praise what they do and give them full respect.
05:39 And hopefully on the day that we, you know, we play our way
05:42 and our way is better than what they try and do to us.
05:45 And with selection and that, we've talked about everybody performing well on Tuesday night.
05:49 How hard is that man management side of it when you've got players,
05:52 say for example, Clydie or Jack, who played really well Tuesday night,
05:56 and they think, 'Oh, I might have put myself in the first team.'
05:58 And then they're not in the first team and they perform well the next game and they're still not.
06:02 How hard is that man management side of things?
06:04 I think the biggest thing from a manager's point of view is just always be honest.
06:07 You know, I think you can never get away from being as honest as you can be,
06:11 you know, and when you have meetings with players individually and you talk to them,
06:17 just be honest with them and tell them how it is, good, bad or indifferent, you know, just be honest.
06:23 And even when you're kind of dropping players from the team,
06:26 tell them why, you know, tell them why that's why I'm making changes.
06:31 You know, and I think that's the biggest thing is just to be honest with them.
06:34 They know that I am that, you know, I am very honest.
06:38 I am kind of got good relationship with all the players.
06:42 I want them all to do well.
06:44 I want them all to play big minutes for us this season.
06:48 We've got good players here and we know we can share their minutes.
06:51 But yeah, I think that's the biggest thing.
06:53 And where are we with the squad? Is Kellen any nearer?
06:56 Kellen trained today for the first time in terms of with the balls,
07:00 you know, he got out and played some football today for the first time.
07:04 So he only did the passing and a little bit kind of in the defending session that we did.
07:11 He kind of joined in that a little bit, but more of a bounce player on the outsides of it.
07:16 So yeah, he's starting to get back into it.
07:19 We're hopeful that he could be back into full-time training at some point next week.
07:23 Cool. And Gladys, he's still recovered. I know we spoke Monday and he's recovered quite well.
07:27 Has he still recovered well from his first minutes of the season?
07:29 Yeah, Gladys has been fine.
07:31 He trained fully today.
07:34 So yeah, he's good to go.
07:35 Cool. Excellent. Ashley?
07:36 Hi Scott. Coolly, you know, they weren't going through a rough patch per se,
07:43 but it had been a few games since that win.
07:45 So how important was that victory on Tuesday for the group morale, for the mentality as well?
07:50 Yeah, obviously we always want to win.
07:52 You know, that made that quite clear that we want to become a winning,
07:56 or to have a winning mentality within the group.
07:59 I think that's important. You know, performances have been good.
08:05 You know, I think Chillingham game is a clear one for me.
08:09 I thought that we were outstanding on the day. I thought we deserved the win.
08:13 We didn't. We lost. You know, Swindon, we deserved what we got, which was nothing.
08:21 Stockport County was kind of a different game where we showed real character to get back to 3-2
08:27 and probably because of that, we maybe deserved more out of it than just a point.
08:33 Again, performance wise was okay in spells at Stockport.
08:37 But you know, we've been performing well. We've been creating a lot of goal-scoring opportunities.
08:43 But yeah, I think wins obviously do a lot for the group.
08:46 You know, they buy into what you're doing more when you're winning games.
08:51 Tuesday night was a brilliant, brilliant performance.
08:55 Of course, we get the result as well. So it makes everybody feel better about themselves,
08:58 you know, on the back of it.
09:01 When you do have those hard days, those losses perhaps, or the draws where you wanted all three points perhaps,
09:07 what's your attitude towards the players?
09:09 What do you do to try and make sure they're not too low?
09:12 Well, I think what we try and address is the fact that the result is always a by-product of your performance.
09:19 We try and instil that in the group.
09:21 So, Gillingham again, an example of that being that we played really, really well in that game,
09:28 but we lost. But we didn't want to get away from our principles
09:31 and we don't want to get away from our principles of how we play.
09:35 And we kind of bang the drum of keep playing that way and the results will come, kind of, you know,
09:41 and we kind of send that message around the training ground quite a lot,
09:46 you know, and I say the result is a by-product of how you play.
09:50 And if you keep playing that way, you'll win more games than you'll lose.
09:54 Big killer, we got that final goal on Tuesday night.
09:57 He popped up a couple of times last evening as well with some important strikes.
10:01 What has your relationship been like with him since you first come to Crawley
10:04 and how impressed have you been with him recently?
10:08 Ralf's my mate. He's like my little buddy.
10:12 You know, I've got a great relationship with him. I really like him.
10:15 I like his energy. I like how he is around the place.
10:18 You know, he's a cheeky little bugger.
10:24 But I like his character. I like the fact that he's got that about him.
10:27 He's got that little bit of swagger about him.
10:30 He was quite funny because he had cramp when we was defending
10:35 and then he was all right when we had the ball, you know,
10:37 and we bantered about that this morning at the training ground.
10:41 He said, "How come you didn't have cramp when we got the ball,
10:44 but you did when we didn't have it?" sort of thing, you know.
10:47 But I've got a great relationship with him.
10:50 Like I've said, I want all my players to play big minutes this season,
10:54 you know, and there's going to be times when we don't change the team that much
10:58 and there's going to be times when there's one or two changes.
11:01 Ralf's a big part of what we do moving forward.
11:04 So aside from Ralf having cramp, as he progresses, as he ages as well,
11:10 is he pushing on that first team more and more?
11:12 For sure. He played like that, like he did Tuesday night,
11:15 and he played two different positions Tuesday night.
11:17 So he played in midfield in the first half and footed really well.
11:21 And then he looked great when he played right wing, you know.
11:23 So if you play like that, you're always going to be in consideration for a first team place.
11:28 Definitely, you know, that's a given.
11:32 And that's all he's got to do in these games that he plays in.
11:34 And on Saturday, if he gets on the pitch,
11:37 he's just got to make sure that whether it's 10 minutes, 20 minutes or two minutes,
11:40 he's got to kind of show me that he's there to make a difference,
11:46 you know, and that's the important factor.
11:49 The impression is that there's quite a vibe around the group at the moment,
11:52 but we're just off a summer transfer window. A lot of incomings, a lot of departures as well.
11:57 Six, seven games into the season now.
11:59 How are the group gelled together and what's the environment like right now?
12:02 I think probably the best I've known a group gelled so quickly,
12:07 you know, obviously you've got a lot of new players
12:10 and it's quickly happened where everyone seems to be everyone's best friend.
12:16 You know, everyone's like from the staff, through the players,
12:21 the atmosphere that we've built at the training ground has been,
12:25 you know, probably I'd say one of the best I've known.
12:28 And certainly, you know, with the amount we've brought in, how quickly they've gelled together.
12:33 And I think what helps is the way that we've played
12:35 and the way that we've kind of coached the team to play.
12:39 I think they're all buying into it and they all like,
12:41 everybody likes to play in a team that has the ball and I think they like that.
12:48 And we're in depth with our analysis sessions.
12:50 We open the floor up for the players to speak.
12:53 They've got great, the atmosphere is great.
12:56 You know, there was a court case today because one of the players was late for one of the games.
12:59 So they held court and it's just brilliant.
13:02 We've got, it's a brilliant place to work.
13:05 You know, we really look forward to come driving in and coming into the training ground
13:10 and I'm sure all the players feel like that as well.
13:13 Comparing that to when it took, what was it, a month for everyone to turn up on time?
13:17 To now with the whole injuries to...
13:19 28 days, it was 28 days before everybody was in on time.
13:24 There was just excuse after excuse.
13:27 There was just a looseness, players didn't want to train.
13:33 You know, the treatment table was just full of players.
13:35 Oh yeah, I'm sore today. We ain't got that now.
13:38 We haven't got that. We've got a really good group of players who are hungry to play.
13:44 Just lastly, I wanted to get your views on something that's hit a lot of national headlines this week and today as well.
13:50 I don't know if you've seen the situation with Jadon Sancho and Eric Ten Hag.
13:54 Regardless, he's getting a lot of flack online.
13:56 A lot of players have to deal with a lot of flack online constantly these days on social media.
14:02 You've said before, you don't really look at it.
14:04 It doesn't come into your environment.
14:06 But what's your approach to social media with players?
14:09 Do you try and get them to stay away or is it a bit more relaxed?
14:15 I don't really say anything.
14:20 My advice would be don't go on it.
14:23 I just don't see it benefiting anybody, if I'm honest with you.
14:28 I think it's, I mean, people use it, you know, from a positive angle.
14:33 But I would dare say that it's used 95% of the time as a negative.
14:41 People want to jump on when mistakes are made.
14:44 People want to jump on being negative about things more so than positive.
14:48 It's like anything you read about, you know, when a team wins a game and plays really well.
14:56 I don't know, it might be my handle on it.
14:59 When a team plays really well and they score lots of goals and win a game,
15:04 I would dare say that the comments are probably good, but not many of them.
15:10 But when the players or a team doesn't play well and they lose and it's awful,
15:16 I bet you get 20 times the amount of comments.
15:19 Is that right? Am I right in saying that?
15:21 Most likely, most likely.
15:23 That's what I'm saying. So it's kind of a negative platform, right?
15:25 Whether it's Twitter, I don't know.
15:27 I don't even know what they are now.
15:30 I'm old school, you know, I'll read a newspaper from the shop.
15:33 But I don't know.
15:35 To me, I don't really give my players any advice on it because I'm not really up to date with it myself.
15:43 I think it's a negative thing.
15:45 Personally, I'd stay well clear.
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