Crawley lively after hibernation

THE MID-SEASON winter break has long been pinpointed as an antidote to overexertion among players.

Crawley Town, by accident rather than design, are currently testing out the benefits of an extended break from action.

From early 2014 until February 22, a badly-flooded pitch meant the club played only TWICE - bad news for club cashflow, but according to Athletic’s manager Lee Johnson, a good thing for the team.

He believes the two clubs, who meet in a crunch encounter at Boundary Park on Saturday, had similar strategies at the start of 2013-14 — and that Crawley’s worked out well while Athletic’s hasn’t.

“They have got some good players,” Johnson told the Chronicle. “They have done what we tried to do and have a group of around eight or nine who are real quality performers for this division — which is fine, provided you have no injuries and managed to keep that core together. For one reason or another, we didn’t manage to do that.

“They have effectively enjoyed a winter break as well. It will get tougher for them now up to the end of the season and we hope it starts to catch up on Saturday.”