Crawley Town boss suggests mentality issues still ‘lingering’ from last season after Accrington Stanley defeat
Colin Kazim-Richards claimed Crawley Town’s slow starts in the 3-2 defeat at Accrington Stanley were down to mentality issues still present from last season’s turbulent campaign.
The Reds conceded twice to Charlie Caton within 10 minutes of each half, falling quickly behind in the fourth minute and again in the 55th minute to make it 2-1 after Danilo Orsi had equalised in the 20th minute.
Devon Matthews extended the hosts’ advantage in the 63rd minute and despite Pemi Aderoju’s late goal to give the Reds hope, they fell to a third defeat in their first five games.
It leaves them in 21st in League Two – just a place above where they finished last season after a dramatic final-day survival mission.
Players’ mentality was a constant concern of former boss Scott Lindsey during that campaign, and Kazim-Richards believes his side’s difficulty in switching on to be ‘a mentality thing’ too.
He said: “A few things from last season are still lingering. Being switched on – you can change that, but it's hard work. You have to be willing to put in the hard work. You have to want it more.
“In training you have to push the levels that you want. Be switched on, don't just be happy with the ball going down the side and the cross coming in.
“Things like that were acceptable. Sometimes players think, just because they didn't score from the cross coming in, ‘Oh, it's OK, they didn't score from it.’ No, it's not OK. Get out to the ball, stop the cross.”
The Reds boss said he had a ‘few things’ in mind to work on now, with his side’s response to dead-ball situations at the top of the pile.
“It has to be better,” Kazim-Richards said. “I've always spoke about our defending, and it makes our defenders look like we've conceded three goals. But it's not just the defenders. The defenders defend the line. As attacking players also, we have to make it difficult.
“If we are going to give a foul away, stand on the ball. Make it tough, make the ref have to talk to you. We're just giving the ball back and then allowing them to play quick free kicks, and turning around and not being switched off and then the ball comes flashing across our box. So, we will address it.”
Next up is the visit of Cheltenham Town to the Broadfield Stadium on Saturday, September 12 (12:30pm kick-off), with the Reds still searching for their first point at home this season.
After the initial promise of pre-season has dwindled in recent weeks, Kazim-Richards was asked how he can keep the camp positive after a difficult start.
“I'm very direct,” he said. “So, I don't think the energy will change because I've been like that. When it's not been good enough in training, I've stopped training and I've told them it's not been good enough. They respect and understand the directness.
“But we have 15, 16 good players as well. The way that we want to play football – at times we're going to make mistakes. But this wasn't mistakes from the way that we play. It's just switching off at times when we need to switch on.”