It was just like the old days at Crawley Town a couple of weeks ago when Jimmy Dack took the acclaim of the fans.

It seems Dack remains just as popular with the Reds' supporters as he was during his first spell at the club which ended abruptly back in 1994.

Dack admits the way the Crawley crowd took to him was one of the reasons which tempted him back.

The other was his friendship with boss Billy Smith.

It was Dack who made an approach to Smith in the summer about linking up again with the boss from his Carshalton days, even though Farnborough offered him a new contract after he helped them win promotion to the Conference last season.

Dack said: "It was one of the most enjoyable times in my career when Billy was my manager before. I like to enjoy my football and Billy encourages that."

Dack has packed plenty into his career since leaving Crawley under a bit of a cloud in the wake of Ted Shepherd's resignation as manager in November 1994.

Shepherd was furious when Crawley's directors tried to stop his players having a quiet drink in their hotel on the eve of an FA Cup first round tie against Exeter City.

It was the last straw for Shepherd, whose relationship with the board had been deteriorating for months, and he resigned the day after Crawley's 1-0 defeat.

Dack walked out in sympathy a few days later.

Crawley are playing in a new stadium these days, but not much else has changed at the club according to Dack.

He added: "It was always a friendly club and a lot of the people who worked behind the scenes are still there.

"Hopefully we can bring a bit of success to Crawley because it is a big club who could take off if they were successful and there are people here who deserve to see that."

Since leaving Dack helped Sutton United win promotion to the Conference in three years before a spell with Aldershot was interrupted by a hernia operation.

Dack returned to Sutton and played in the Conference for them before switching to Farnborough. He played 37 times for the Hampshire club who won the Ryman League title last season.

"Farnborough offered me a new contract, but it's a fourday a week commitment there what with training on Sundays as well as midweek and two games a week," said Dack.

"I'm married now with a kid on the way and I work in London as a black cab driver so can't make the commitment to Farnborough.

"I don't mind the travelling and Crawley is handy for me. I live in Worcester Park so it's not too far to go for training with Crawley."

Dack missed the opening three games, a legacy of a suspension he picked up last season but Smith soon had him operating alongside his pal Dave Harlow in midfield. Dack believes he could soon be playing Conference football with his third different club.

"It's a good squad and there is a lot of strength in depth which is even more important,"

he said. "You do need that in this league and I'd imagine if we needed a couple of new faces for a promotion push at Christmas that the club would help.

"There is a great team spirit. There's a belief that if we all work hard and pull together we can get promoted."

Crawley are back in action on Monday when they travel to Cambridge City.

It means a re-union with his old club for striker Warren Waugh who was on target again in Tuesday's 3-0 win over Bath, a victory which took Reds into second place ahead of today's home encounter with Stafford Rangers.

Reds are also away next Saturday when they travel to Moor Green. Warren Bagnall is suspended after his red card in the win over Newport IOW last week.

Another man in trouble with referees is reserve team boss Francis Vines.

He was sent off duringTuesday's 2-0 Suburban League victory over Molesey after a tussle with a defender, but plans to appeal against his dismissal.