David Artell believes that he and his staff learned a great deal about Crawley Town after watching them take on Southend United in an FA Cup replay on Tuesday evening. Artell used the opportunity to watch the Red Devils in action and he says they performed well against League One opposition until extra-time took its toll.

Artell told the clubs’ official website: “The opportunity presented itself for us to see Crawley play, so we went down there on Tuesday night. It was very cold but well worth it. You do learn a lot by seeing the opposition in action, the style, the formation and you learn about their players.

“Southend just had too much for them in the end.

“I don’t think they have changed too dramatically from when Harry Kewell was there and the board deserve credit for sticking with those principles. They get the ball down and try and play their football. The style hasn’t changed too much and their new man has his own ideas but hasn’t gone in there and really changed things too much in terms of the way they play.

“There are so many examples of clubs, hiring someone who is completely different from the previous guy, so they deserve great credit for the appointment they have made.”