Crawley boss will remember late wife in Wembley final

Scott Lindsey will become the first manager to lead Crawley Town out at Wembley

Sunday's League Two play-off final at Wembley will hold more significance than simply winning a football match for Crawley boss Scott Lindsey.

The Reds' manager guided his side to the showpiece against Crewe Alexandra with a 8-1 aggregate demolition of MK Dons in the semi-finals.

It will be Crawley's first ever appearance at the national stadium but Lindsey has been there before, winning promotion to the Football League as assistant manager of Forest Green Rovers in 2017.

"When we won I remember my wife [Hayley] who [has since] passed away was in the crowd, so I’ll no doubt be looking at that seat as memory for me on Sunday," he told BBC Radio Sussex.

Lindsey, whose wife died of cancer in 2019, was also part of the coaching staff at Swindon Town when the Robins lost 4-0 against Preston North End in the 2014-15 League One play-off final.

Crewe beat Crawley 4-2 at Broadfield Stadium and 1-0 at the Mornflake Stadium this season, with Lindsey's side securing a play-off place with a 2-0 win over Grimsby Town on the final day.

Lindsey has tried to play down the size of the occasion to his players.

"When we start making it bigger than it needs to be that's when the players probably get nerves. It's a day out for the supporters but it's a day at work for us,” he said.

'We're excited to prove everyone wrong'

Dion Conroy is set to captain Crawley in the League Two play-off final

Crawley captain Dion Conroy said there was "no point getting to the final and not winning".

"We've played some unbelievable football that you wouldn’t think is played at this level and had some amazing results," the 28-year-old said.

"We weren't supposed to be here so I think we're excited to prove everyone wrong.

"It's going to an absolute privilege to be the first person to walk out [at Wembley] as captain of this club."

Young Crewe side 'won't be fazed'- Bell

Lee Bell has been in charge of Crewe since November 2022

For Crewe boss Lee Bell, Sunday's final is a chance to complete a promotion double with the club.

Bell came off the bench during the Alex's 2-0 win over Cheltenham in the League Two final 12 years ago - the last time the Railwaymen reached a play-off Wembley showpiece.

This time he has the honour of leading his team out but he insisted he is "literally not thinking about that", preferring to spend his time getting his players in the right frame of mind.

"Our job is to play football," he told BBC Radio Stoke.

"I'm just so focussed on making this week look normal for the lads and putting a plan together to get them to play to the best of their ability.

"It's a game of football and we're there to win it."

Crewe's long-held tradition of building their sides around young players means they go into Sunday's game with the second-youngest squad in the division, with an average age of 23.

And Bell is confident they will take the occasion in their stride.

"I don't think they'll be fazed by it," he said.

"I don't think the occasion will get to them because they're young. That's where they want to be - playing in these big stadiums.

"But we'll just treat it as normal. I just want to be out there watching the lads play."

'The only thing I want to do is win'

Defender Rio Adebisi, 23, epitomises Crewe's philosophy, having already clocked up more than 100 first-team appearances and experienced a promotion and relegation in his Alex career.

He echoes Bell's sentiment that the squad are mentally tough, despite their age.

"I feel like the past year has helped me," he told BBC Radio Stoke.

"We've had ups and downs and I've got used to different situations. Twelve months ago I probably wouldn't have been able to cope with the stress but I'm in a way better place now because I've played more regularly.

"Being in a team always in the top seven, we had hope of achieving something and now we've got there it shows how far we've come as a team.

"The only thing I want to do is win and go up."

Rio Adebisi made his debut for Crewe as a 19-year-old in August 2019 and has made 135 appearances for the club

Bell has 'a lot of time' for Crawley boss

Bell is unbeaten in three games against Crawley, winning twice, and another positive result will see Crewe return to League One after a two-year absence.

But the Alex boss said the Red Devils are "a really good side" and he has a lot of respect for Lindsey.

"We've played three times and he's gone out of his way to hold a conversation and some managers don't," Bell said.

"He could see I was a young manager and I've got a lot of time for him. His team are really good to watch.

"They'll be slight favourites given the way they played in the play-offs and finished the season compared to us but we don't mind being underdogs."