Langston signs for Reds

CRAWLEY Town boss Steve Evans says the signing of Matthew Langston shows the club are serious about winning promotion to the Football League - either this season or next.

Langston joined the Reds on loan from Blue Square rivals Histon on Monday, but Evans says he is hopeful of making the deal permanent at the end of the season.

The former Stutes skipper became available on Sunday after his contract dispute with manager Alan Lewer turned ugly and he was dropped from Histon's matchday squad to face Gateshead.

And Evans wasted no time to pounce for the player who he claims has been on his radar for some time.

He said: "I've wanted to take him from Histon before but I've never managed to convince them to let him go until now.

"When the news that his contract talks had broken down I was straight on the phone to them again - it all took about five minutes to go through and he was very happy to join us.

"I think he is right up there with the best centre-halves in the division, he is tall, quick and a leader of men."

The 28-year-old went straight into the Reds squad to face AFC Wimbledon last night and was expected to start as Town coped with something of a defensive crisis.

Adam Quinn is believed to be about a week away with a calf injury while Glenn Wilson and Eddie Hutchinson were only rated as 50-50 after picking up knocks during Saturday's 2-0 defeat against Stevenage.

However, despite the defensive problems the Langston deal still represents a slight change in policy for Crawley, who haven't signed a player since Calum Willock joined in August.

"The owners have done a wonderful job off the field reducing the club's debt but it has been difficult working with such a small squad.

"I'm grateful that I have been able to bring Andrew in as it shows we are still serious about making the play-offs. I know the majority of people have written us off but we have been on a brilliant run and have played almost all of the top teams.

"Starting with Ebbsfleet at home on Saturday we have a run of games that on paper look easier."

Evans insisted that bringing Langston in on loan was the perfect scenario as it allowed the player to experience what Crawley had to offer before committing himself to a long term deal.

"We know what he is about but it gives us a chance to get to know him as a person and see how he fits into our set up," he added.

"He already knows quite a few of the lads and they have made him feel welcome.

"Matthew is the type of quality that I want to bring to this football club and it shows our supporters that we are serious when we talk about challenging at the top of this division."

Evans believes that somewhere in the region of 70 points will be enough to make the play-offs this season, with, prior to the Wimbledon match, the Reds 21 points short of that target with 10 games to play.

He continued: "I was happy with the way we played against Stevenage but we just lacked a little bit of cutting edge.

"At times I think we over-passed the ball when what we need to do is get more shots on target. I'd like to have brought a forward in too but our current defensive problems meant that I had to prioritise a defender."

Crawley's play-off aspirations were boosted after Chester City's expected expulsion was confirmed. All their results from this season have been expunged from the record books, meaning several of the teams chasing promotion have lost points.

As the Reds have not played Chester yet they find themselves closer to several of the teams above them, but have played more games than some of their rivals.