Gregory: Defeat hard to swallow

Crawley boss John Gregory admitted his side are now looking over their shoulders following a 2-1 loss to Crewe.

The Reds have scored just twice in their losing run and Gregory is demanding a big improvement with eight matches remaining. After Saturday's 2-1 home loss to Crewe, he said: "It's the first time I've had to look over our shoulders since I've been here. Some of the results in the bottom half were not good for us today. "But it's in our own hands and other clubs around us don't have the luxury of the games in hand. "The second half was a much better performance and when it got back to 1-1 it looked as though there was only going to be one winner." Gregory believes his men are making it harder for themselves by slipping up against sides not challenging towards the top of the table. He added: "We've saved our best performances for the better teams this season. I got a text six weeks ago telling me we had six winnable games over the next month - we haven't won one of them. "They were considered to be the easy ones, which tells you a lot about my team. But ultimately the outcome of the matches are solely down to me. "We've tried to be too clever. We gave them two goals today, they were two big mistakes, and it's rather difficult for me to accept." Relegation-threatened Crewe had gone in front when the on-loan Uche Ikpeazu fired home from close range in the 18th minute. Crawley improved after the break and substitute Jamie Proctor pulled them level with a tremendous 25-yard drive after 69 minutes which flew into the top corner of the net. But Bradden Inman had the final say by steering the ball home 10 minutes from time following a lovely pass by Bryon Moore.