Crawley Town manager Scott Lindsey slams his side’s defending in mauling at Mansfield Town

Stags could have had many more as they halted struggling Crawley's revival of five games unbeaten in emphatic style and Lindsey said: “We were poor and defensively we were awful – not just the defenders but as a team.

“We looked open and like we'd never defended before. We had plenty of chances ourselves, but they probably had double or even treble what we had.

“You can't defend like that and expect to get anything anywhere let alone a place like Mansfield, where they are going for the play-offs.

“At half-time we were still in the game at 1-0 and we were 'okay' though Mansfield seemed to have too much room in our box.

“I said at half-time we were too open defensively. We seemed happy to let them have time on the ball in our box which was madness really.

“The next goal was important and they scored straight after half-time. The second goal killed us.

“Top end of the pitch there were moments where we carved them open and probably didn't get our final shot away.”

He added: “I think we lacked a bit of belief. There were spaces for us to step forward and be the dominant side, but we never really stepped forward. We looked almost too shy to do it.

“We seem to have lost that bit of swagger and confidence - and I don't know why as we've just come away from a five game unbeaten run.”

Crawley sit just above the drop zone ahead of Easter and Lindsey said: “They are all massive games now. We are in the driving seat as we're two points in front of Hartlepool. We just have to take care of our own business and play better than we did today.

“After so many Saturday/Tuesdays it is important we have a clear week now, albeit the next game is against tough opposition. But we do have a week to prepare and there were some tired legs out there.

“I have said all along. Rochdale, Hartlepool, Colchester, Harrogate and whoever else is down there – they are not going away. We have got to do our bit. It's down to us. I can't bang that drum any harder than I am banging it.

“We have to be better on Friday than we were today and I am looking for a response.”