Box Clever

ARGYLE manager Ryan Lowe is expecting a ruthless reaction in key areas from his team as we travel to Crawley Town on Tuesday night in Sky Bet League Two.

The Pilgrims went down to a solitary late goal at Port Vale on the weekend and, despite some good play at times, the gaffer was disappointed with the failure to take our chances at one end and thwart the major threat from our hosts.

The net result could well be a change in personnel at Crawley Town and the challenge has been clearly set for the Pilgrims to rediscover their promising early-season form.

“There are aspects in the game where you have to be more ruthless in both boxes,” said Ryan. “I’m responsible, I pick the team and there will be lads knocking on my door wanting it [to play].

“It will be another tough game. Port Vale away and then Crawley away are two tough games. We’ll debrief this one [Port Vale], put it to bed and address it with the lads. There are certain lads in there who want to put it right and lads in there chomping at the bit to get a chance.

“I’ll make sure we have the right lads to get results. We’ve got a group that is still gelling, possibly too nice, and I’ve got to rough that up. The points tally is not as much [as we want] and we know we’ve got work to do.

“My staff and I will put the work in. We’ve got a great squad and once Joe Riley comes back on Monday, we’ve got a fully-fit squad, so I’ll pick the team and see who wants it.”

A 1-0 win at home to Mansfield on the weekend moved Crawley to the edge of the play-off positions and their Italian boss Gabriele Cioffi is reaping the rewards of a summer shake-up at the People’s Pension Stadium.

“Crawley are doing fantastic,” said Ryan. “Their manager has gone in and cleared out a lot of players, so we know it’s another tough place. It will a number of hours on the road again for us.

“Crawley, we know, will be a tough ask but we’re going there to win.”