Crawley Town v Blackpool preview with Scott Lindsey
Crawley Town kick off their League One campaign against Blackpool at the Broadfield Stadium. We spoke to Scott Lindsey about the game, rebuilding the squad, new signing Panutche Camara and much more.
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00:00Scott, it's that time again. We're back in League action tomorrow for the first time
00:03in what feels like a long time. How are you preparing for that Blackpool game?
00:07Yeah, we've had a really good week this week in training. Obviously watched Blackpool.
00:15They were very good, like I had. So, yeah, we're looking forward to a game, you know,
00:21especially being at home as well. We're happy to be at home in that first game.
00:26The players are excited. It's a new challenge for us, a new season. So, yeah, we're really
00:32looking forward to the game.
00:33We've obviously had plenty of games to enjoy over pre-season, but nothing compares, does
00:37it, to League action getting stuck into competitive football. You must be pleasant to get back
00:42out there in front of the fans in a real League fixture.
00:44Yeah, I'm really looking forward to it. Really looking forward to coming out and to see the
00:50fans in a competitive environment. We've missed that. I think as much as you try and
00:57prepare the team to play, obviously, games against competitive sides, nothing beats playing
01:03against opposition in a League fixture. You know the importance of the result, the importance
01:11of the performance. It's all kind of there and we're really ready for that. We're really
01:21going to embrace it and it's going to be a big challenge this season, but we're really
01:28looking forward to it.
01:29Yeah, after pre-season, how happy and content are you with the squad? Is there some things
01:33you're still wanting to be working on this week at the training ground?
01:36I think you're constantly, obviously with the amount of signings we've made, it's a new
01:40group, so you're constantly working on things. There's certain aspects that you're touching
01:47upon all the time. We want the players to take on board quite a lot of information quite
01:53early, so we have to be mindful that we don't overspill in terms of that. We want them to
01:59be really clear. We don't want to muddy the waters for them so that they're confused,
02:05so we have to be careful with the amount of information we do give them. We also need
02:10to give them a platform to go and play and to be competitive against a good side in Blackpool.
02:15We added Panuccio Kamara to our ranks this week. How happy are you to secure his signing
02:20only a few days before the season starts?
02:22I think it's a great signing. It's a really good signing. He's a fantastic player. I really
02:27liked him years ago when he was here the first time. I remember watching him and thinking,
02:30wow, what a good player this kid is. He obviously went on and played at a level that he should
02:36have been at with Plymouth, Charlton and obviously Ipswich, so I've not played so much at Ipswich
02:41and Charlton. I think injuries kind of got in the way, but hopefully, given our medical
02:46team and our record with keeping players on the pitch, hopefully we see more of him. He's
02:53a fantastic footballer, isn't he? Obviously, coming back here, the fans will remember
02:59him from the last time and I think it's a great signing.
03:01That leads us nicely on to the next question. How is the squad looking in terms of fitness?
03:05Are we full complement for the weekend?
03:07No, we're not full complement. We've picked up a couple of injuries during pre-season,
03:12but we're not far away. I'm happy with what we've got to work with. We have been this
03:22week really nailing down some tactics on certain aspects of how we want to play.
03:28Ben Glavine has taken the role of coach this year, obviously retiring from football. We've
03:32seen him pre-season, Dion Conway taking the arm band. I suppose we can make an official
03:36announcement now. Will he be your captain for the upcoming season?
03:39Dion will be the captain. We haven't officially announced that or anything yet. I suppose
03:44it's the first time we've spoke about it. Dion will be the captain moving forward.
03:50Scott, obviously, like you said, it's a new squad this year, a new team. Last season it
03:55was a similar situation, wasn't it? But you always felt you could achieve something. Have
03:59you got that feeling this time around and what is achieving something this season?
04:03I think what we did last year was we had our own targets in-house. We didn't shout from
04:11the rooftops about what we felt we could achieve. We kept that quite private and I think it's
04:15important we do the same again this season. However, I do feel as if we have to be mindful
04:20of the level we're at now and also with the opposition that we're going to be playing
04:26against. There's some big, big sides in there with big budgets and good players and good
04:30managers. But we'll be competitive and one thing I want to say is that we'll be trying
04:36to win every game we play. We're not going to park the bus, sit behind the ball, have
04:41a low block. It's not us. We're not going to do that at all. We're going to be aggressive
04:46in our way, in our approach to every game. We're going to try and win every game. Will
04:52we win every game? Probably not, but we will be trying so the fans can enjoy watching a
04:57team that's trying to win every week. But we have to be mindful of the level we're at
05:03now. Some really good sides, like I say, some big, big clubs. But inside the four walls
05:11of the dressing room, we've got our own kind of targets that we feel that we can achieve.
05:16Is it a squad that you think the fans can get excited about, like they did in most of
05:21the second half of last season?
05:23Well, I'm excited about it. Hopefully so, yes, because I feel that in terms of the recruitment,
05:29it's real clear for me that the owners want to recruit with data and it's exciting for
05:39me because I get to work with new players, I get to mould individuals, I get to mould
05:45a new team. We have to be patient with that because it is a new team and I think we have
05:53to be really mindful of that. I also have to try and get the players to adhere to the
06:01culture that I built last season. I don't want that to change. I want the standards
06:04to be through the roof. But because there's so many new faces, it's not going to happen
06:09overnight. I have to make sure that they understand how I work, how my staff work, how the current
06:13players who remain here work. And the new players have to adhere to the standards that
06:19we set and I think that will take time as well. But it's exciting times for everybody.
06:26At the Fans Forum on Monday night, a fan asked Preston, how happy was Scott Lindsay when
06:31you were selling all of last year's squad? I think the word was dismantled last year's
06:35squad. He asked Preston, was he happy behind the scenes, did he shout or anything? Preston
06:40was quite good in his answer. He said that you were relishing the opportunity to work
06:44with the new players and that. But how were you when all those players were leaving at
06:48the beginning of the summer? Well, listen, you kind of grow close to these players. You
06:55have a relationship with these players. No one wants to see people walk out the building.
07:00But sometimes those situations are out of your control and out of the club's control
07:07as well. Because if they've been offered normally to go elsewhere, there's not really a great
07:10deal we can do about that. But what I do know is that I back myself as a coach. I enjoy
07:17doing my job. I enjoy working with fresh talent that the owners have worked hard to
07:24find and piecing that together and coaching them again and trying to get them to play
07:32my way. I'm really excited about that. Like I say, I think we have to be patient with
07:41it because we're probably not going to see a team with complete cohesion straight away.
07:48But hopefully, with hard work on the training ground, we will see it eventually.
07:52My inbox has been absolutely full of betting companies emailing me this week telling me
07:56that Crawley are going to go down this year. Does that just fuel you like it did last year?
08:00Yes, I suppose it does. But I don't really listen to it like I didn't last year. We did
08:05use it at times to fuel us, but I don't take the notice of that. Yearly speaking, they
08:11should do their own work a little bit better than they have if they're backing us. Because
08:17it happened last year and we proved everybody wrong.
08:22Obviously, this year with the Sky deal, there's going to be a lot of fixture changes. We've
08:26got all the dates up until Christmas now, I think it is. Does that affect anything in
08:32any way? Obviously, the Birmingham game seems to have been moved a lot closer to Boxing
08:36Day and gives you a lot less time over Christmas. I know you're not thinking about that period
08:41yet, but do you find that the schedule changes are going to be a bit difficult with time
08:45for you?
08:46No, we have to just adjust. I think that when you're in football, you adjust accordingly
08:52anyway, whatever happens. There's been times when obviously the playoff game was a prime
08:58example where it absolutely tipped down for the first leg and we had to change that game.
09:04We adjusted accordingly and this is no different really. In fact, it's probably easier because
09:10we've been given the dates and the scheduled times and everything earlier. You just adjust
09:16and you train accordingly and prepare accordingly. It is what it is. It's quite exciting that
09:22we're on telly a lot. It's good exposure for the football club, for the players certainly.
09:28I'm looking forward to performing or to see the team perform and some of those games being
09:36live on telly.
09:37I know it's not all about you, but how important a season is this for you in terms of your
09:42career and having that exposure as well and being at this level now?
09:46I'm not really bothered about that, if I'm honest with you. As long as my team perform,
09:50I think my team should reflect what I am and the way we played last year was really
09:55pleasing in a lot of occasions, pretty much all season. I thought our standards were good
09:59in terms of our performances and certainly through the playoffs, I thought we were outstanding
10:05throughout them three live games and that was a reflection on all the hard work that
10:10we'd done as coach and staff. I just want my team to look good and they care about me really.