Why Crawley Town being written off at the start of the season was a good thing – According to former Swindon Town defender, Crawley Town were written off by everyone at the start of this season.
The 27-year-old joined the Reds in the summer of 2022 and was a member of the team that just survived relegation by two points. Conroy is now one of the club’s longest-serving players following a summer clearout.
And, based on their league record last season, Scott Lindsey’s side were heavily touted to drop, with some analysts predicting they would struggle to collect any points in their first six or seven games.
Conroy and company, on the other hand, have proven the skeptics wrong, winning four of their first eight games and currently sitting sixth in League Two with 14 points. And the defender, who played under Lindsey at Swindon Town, is adamant about why things are going so well.
“Last season, I was speaking to people behind the scenes and I was saying we needed to get the Gaffer in anyway because obviously I know how good he can be,” he explained. That was an important aspect of keeping up because I felt if we stayed up last season, this season might be incredibly exceptional.
“And obviously, at the start of the season, everyone wrote us off.” It was, in my opinion, a positive thing. It didn’t put any pressure on the new boys coming in, but it did make us want to prove everyone wrong.
“And we’ve gotten off to a great start. I think we’re playing fantastic football, and hopefully we can keep it up.
Conroy’s admiration for his gaffer is palpable. Conroy explained what makes Lindsey unique: “He’s obviously very knowledgeable about the game.” You can observe how we’re doing on the field. In this league, I don’t believe anyone is playing the type of football we are. He’s also a really, really, really nice guy.
“He’s just a really nice, honest guy, which goes a long way in football because you don’t see many of them.” I had a great relationship with him in Swindon, and we clearly have a great relationship now. His coaching is certainly working, and we’re playing very well.”
Injury has plagued Conroy’s Crawley career. He missed pre-season this summer after missing two spells previous season. He appeared in four games at the start of the league season before suffering a calf injury.
He returned on Saturday and played defensive midfielder in the 3-2 win over Tranmere Rovers. Despite his frustration, Conroy thinks the squad’s camaraderie helped him get through his time on the bench – and that’s because to the recruitment.
“I’ve had a number of injuries throughout my career, so I know it can be a lonely place,” he admitted. “I think one of the biggest things this season with recruitment has been that we’ve recruited not only good players but also good people.” Within the squad, there is genuine chemistry and camaraderie.
“Whether you’re injured or not, and if someone has their heads down, you can always see someone speaking to them or wrapping their arm around their shoulders and sort of lifting them up.” The chemistry is fantastic, and everyone is pulling for one another.”
“It was a rollercoaster last year,” he admitted. “I had a couple unfortunate injuries with concussions and a small little knee surgery and then got back fit under a different manager and then my shoulder was out and another manager came in.” I get back into shape, and then another manager arrives. So last season was a bit strange, but perhaps this year will be more consistent.”
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