Crawley Town's new captain keeping players 'on it' says boss Lindsey

Ben Gladwin was announced as Crawley Town’s new captain just six days after signing the for the Reds from Swindon Town. Gladwin, 30, joined Crawley soon after Scott Lindsey was appointed as the club’s new manager, who also arrived from Swindon.

“He’s very good with mixing with the players,” said Lindsey on his new signing, who managed Gladwin prior to their switch. “He’s not somebody that’ll be loud or come in and try to change everything. He’s not like that.

“He’ll build relationships as we go because he’s quite smart in terms of that. So, he’ll be good for us moving forward.”

Lindsey has often stressed the importance of Crawley improving their standards and work rate since his appointment. When asked if signing Gladwin was a big part of making that change, he said, “Yeah definitely.

“Little things like he’s the first in this morning, making sure that he’s driving stuff all the time, making sure that other people tidy up after themselves, just general standards around the building.

“He’ll look after some of the fine system with the older players as well, just make sure that all the players are doing everything right in terms of their job. Making sure that we’re working extremely hard on the training ground but also being good people around the building as well.”

Gladwin has replaced George Francomb as Crawley captain after the later left the club during the recent January transfer window. With experience at Norwich and AFC Wimbledon, Francomb made 138 appearances for Crawley in five years.

“He’ll look after some of the fine system with the older players as well, just make sure that all the players are doing everything right in terms of their job. Making sure that we’re working extremely hard on the training ground but also being good people around the building as well.”

In his second game and start for Crawley, Gladwin played was pivotal against Gillingham despite the eventual 1-0 loss. On his skipper’s performance for Crawley so far, Lindsey said: “Brilliant. I thought he was outstanding in the first halve. I thought he looked a but above if I’m honest with you.

“He should have scored two goals in that first halve but the game became a little bit end to end in that second halve which doesn’t suit him so much. He’s a player that likes to be in control of the game.”

As according to Lindsey, Gladwin came close twice to scoring his first for Crawley and potentially winning the game. Nevertheless, the Gills defeated the Reds and closed their gap on the relegation zone to just one point.