'Ready to go' - Crawley Town boss looks ahead to 'tough' trip to MK Dons as key player could be set to return

The Reds will be looking to make it three away wins on the bounce – and complete a double over MK Dons after a 2-1 win at the Broadfield Stadium in August. That night goals from Nick Tsaroulla and Danilo Orsi saw them claim the three points.

Graham Alexnader was manager then, but Mike Williamson took over in October and has has got them to seventh in the table after going nine games unbeaten. They have won their last three games.

But Crawley will be confident after a 2-0 win at Gillingham on Boxing Day. Lindsey said: “Mike Williamson has done a fantastic job since coming. They are a really good side, have really enjoyed watching them this week. They have really good players and they have just started to get a head of steam with their results. We know it’s going to be a tough game, but we are in a good place at the moment after what was a really tough game at Gillingham.

“We are ready to go again and I am really looking forward to the game.”

Liam Kelly could be back in contention after illness while Ben Gladwin will miss the game though injury.

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Ethan Robson and Dean Lewington could be rested against Crawley Town after playing a lot of minutes over the Christmas period.

Both are not long returned from injury, with a third game in six days potentially pushing them beyond what head coach Mike Williamson would like, with a view to the longer term.

Williamson said he believes all of his players will be keen to put their hands up to play again over the Christmas period, but said he may have to take precautions when it comes to squad rotation.

"We've put a few shifts in now, I'm sure there will be some weary legs in there, but I'm sure I'll get no feedback other than 'I feel great!' which is what we want to hear," he said.

"We won't take an unnecessary risks. A player like Ethan has had a lot of minutes after his injury, and we'll be cautious still with Skip, but they all want to play. That's the mentality of these guys, and I wouldn't expect anything less."

On the threat of Crawley, Williamson added: "They play really good football, with a similar formation and style (to ours). They had a good 2-0 win on Boxing Day, at a difficult place like Gillingham. It will be tough. We'll dust ourselves off and see how everyone is. Ultimately, we know it's about energy, turning up and having that same arousal as on Boxing Day."