Matt Harrold has told Crawley to man up.

The big striker accused Reds of being pushovers in the first half of their 5-3 defeat at Notts County at the weekend.

Harrold watched from the bench as the Magpies helped themselves to three goals and could easily have gone even further ahead.

That demoralising defeat at Meadow Lane followed the worrying surrender against Peterborough in the previous game at the Checkatrade.com Stadium.

Harrold admits he has been shocked by the manner of Crawley’s performances in those two games having shown impressive grit to grind out results earlier in the season.

And the former Bristol Rovers targetman says they must rediscover that fighting spirit tonight as they bid to bounce back against Walsall at the Checkatrade.com Stadium.

Harrold said: “I was on the bench on Saturday and I noticed how aggressive and up for it Notts County were.

“They started the game like a house on fire and we didn’t cope with it as a team. They were winning headers and tackles all over the pitch.

“It was something we addressed at half-time but we know we can’t afford to start games like that again as we will just get punished. We have got to fight from the first minute.

“Sometimes you can overcomplicate the game as a lot of the time it is about who wants it more and who is prepared to be the most aggressive.

“That is something we have got to look at and do better. It is very unlike us if you look at the way we were playing earlier in the season and we have got to get back to that.”

See The Argus today for the full interview with Matt Harrold in our big match preview