'As good as it gets' - Crawley Town boss ranks Grimsby Town game as most important of his managerial career

Reds must beat the Mariners to stand a chance of securing a place in the League Two play-offs. And if they claim three points, they will be relying on Doncaster Rovers or Crewe losing, or Barrow drawing or losing.

If that happens, Lindsey’s men will be preparing for a first leg of the play-offs on Monday, May 6.

And when asked how high this game ranks in terms of importance in his career, he said: “It’s the highest. I’ve been to the play-off final as assistant manager and I am now the manager. This is my team, I am in charge of this group of players and the staff and it will be a fantastic achievement if we were to win on Saturday, and get into the play-offs. That will be an achievement in itself.

"People will celebrate that but I know me, if we get in it, I will want to win and get to Wembley and if we get to Wembley, I’ll want to win that as well because that’s the way I am built. This is as good as it’s got for me in terms of my managerial career and I have enjoyed every minute of it.”

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And it’s not just Lindsey and the players who deserve to get to the play-offs. Lindsey said: “A lot of work goes in. There will be a lot of people in the background who the fans don’t even know about who put a lot of work in, who also have to deal with me, which is never easy.

“I want to do well because I am a winner, but also because I know how much work everybody’s put in. The players have been fantastic all season, they have taken on all the information we have given them and executed it brilliantly.

“I want to do well for everyone for the hard work they have put in. My dad used to say ‘you only get out of football what you put into it’ and we have certainly put a lot into this season.

And speaking about Saturday, Lindsey said: “It’s going to be a really positive day. I will look forward to going out and seeing the fans and I know the players enjoy playing here in front of the day.

“We think it’s going to be a really positive day and hopefully we can celebrate with them before focussing on what may come next.”