'The squad needs help' - Crawley Town skipper warns of 'serious' relegation battle if they do not strengthen in January after Sutton United loss

Reds suffered their second successive home defeat when they lost 2-1 to Sutton United in a scrappy Boxing Day derby at the Broadfield Stadium.

After an uneventful first 45 minutes, Crawley started the second half positively but two goals – one from a set piece they failed to clear and a penalty after a mix-up – saw Sutton go 2-0 up. A Remi Oteh goal four minutes into added time was the only thing Matty Etherington’s side had to show from the game.

And in a frank post-match interview, skipper George Francomb said the squad is not good enough and needs help in the January transfer window.

"We have got to be stronger as a squad,” he said. “The squad is light and the squad is not good enough and we need some help in January in my opinion.

"I feel sorry for the gaffer and Si [Simon Davies]. I feel sorry for the fans with the situation we are in/. The squad needs help in the second half of the season otherwise we will be in a relegation battle, a very serious one.”

And Etherington, who took over the role at the end of November, did not disagree with Francomb.

Since he started, Etherington has been unable to select Tom Nichols because of a possible transfer away from the club and seen serious injuries to key players Joel Lynch, Ashley Nadesan and James Tilley.

"The injuries have hurt us,” said the former West Ham and Stoke City star. “The first game I was here for I thought Joel Lynch was outstanding then him and Ashley Nadesan come off within a minute of each other. Nadders is a big player for us, he gets us up the pitch, he creates, he scores. And James Tilley as well, technically a really good footballer who will look after the ball.

"We know where we are at and this is where we are at, we have got to roll our sleeves up and get one with it but January is a big month for the football club.

"There’s key areas we have identified that we want to strengthen in if we want to be competitive in this league. I think every supporter will know where those areas are, it’s not rocket science. We have what we have right now. There are players that I believe are good football players that are playing with a fearfulness in them and we need to make sure that load is lessened off them in terms of the nervousness in going out to the pitch.

"The next two training sessions are really important to us as staff and the players. One, we pick them up, but two, we really nail down what we want from the players.”

It’s a trip to second-placed Stevenage next on Friday night.

Etherington said: “It’s difficult in there [dressing room] after a performance like that, against Hartlepool too. It’s going to be hard to pick them up but we are going to have to because Stevenage will be a similar game. Steve Evans has done well with them and they have some good players. It’s going to be even tougher on Friday night."