'Gamble' - Crawley Town boss reveals thinking behind position change for key player

Lindsey decided to push Will Wright – who had played all season as one of a back three – into midfield for the League Two clash in Essex. Wright was excellent, providing the assist for Liam Kelly’s opening goal and forming a solid partnership with skipper Ben Gladwin in the defensive midfield roles.

And speaking in the Mansfield press conference, Lindsey hinted that the change could be something we see going forward. “It was something we thought of a couple of weeks ago,” he said.

"We wanted to put a strong backline in with a strong defensive midfield but with two players who can actually handle the ball really well and in Ben Gladwin and Will Wright you have got that and Will’s a defender as well so it kind of suited.

“And when you look at that back three and those midfield players, there’s not many times you rethink you could cut through that.

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"I did feel there were moments on Saturday where we looked a little open but we have put that straight on the training ground and we have talked about it when we analyzed the game and it's about just adjusting one or two things and we will become more solid.”

Wright joined the Reds in the summer as part of Lindsey’s revolution of the squad. Apart from 34 games for Gillingham last season, Wright has mainly plied his trade in Non League with the likes of Hitchin Town and Dagenham and Redbridge. He has made himself a first team regular and it’s clear Lindsey is a big fan.

He said: “Will’s a lovely footballer. Even though he comes as defender, I like to think all my players can player in different positions and I am the type of manager who will try things.

“Some might say it was a gamble but sometimes you have to take a gamble to see if things will work or not, I thought it worked perfectly and thought he did the role brilliantly.”