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Saunders: I have no magic wand

Image: Dean Saunders: The players are nervous

Crawley boss Dean Saunders admitted he faces a massive challenge to keep the club in League One after they lost 1-0 at Fleetwood.

Antoni Sarcevic fired the only goal of the game to send Fleetwood into the top six and leave Crawley rock-bottom. Saunders said it will be a tough ask to turn the Sussex club's fortunes around. "I've put my neck on the line to come in," Saunders said. "I knew I was in for a battle. "I didn't think all of a sudden start we'd beating everybody. It's going to be a scrap every week. "I've just got to find a formula that will get us over the line." Saunders added: "The players are nervous and not confident. You can't buy confidence. "We just need to get a win. An equaliser would have given us a good result at Fleetwood, who have players we can't afford. "I thought in the second half we had a lot of corners, put a lot of pressure on their defence but things didn't quite go for us. "The first half was a scrap, they scored from a set-piece, it's nothing. "We player better but we're giving the ball away too much and not having enough shots on goal." The visitors made the brighter start but could not turn possession into chances. Sarcevic had already forced one save from Lewis Price when he struck two minutes before the break. Jamie Proctor drew a soft foul from Marvin Elliott as he ran sideways across the 18 yard line and Sarcevic's low free-kick squirmed under the Crawley wall and also the body of Price. Sarcevic went close to adding a second goal when he beat Price to a long ball over the top, but his lob came off the woodwork. Fleetwood's Steven Schumacher cleared Darren Ward's corner off the goal-line to seal Fleetwood's first home win since November. Graham Alexander was relieved to see his side end their poor run of results at home. He said: "I thought it was fully deserved. It was a bit of a grind at times, but we tested Crawley and asked them questions. "We came up with a goal that won the game, but we've tested the keeper, we've hit the post. "We're pleased with the result. I know the potential in this team. "Sometimes you have to win when you're not at your best. We showed a different side to our game. "We've just got to get the balance right, but I'll take that every day of the week, the players leaving everything on the pitch."

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