Crawley boss Billy Smith has pledged to rebuild his team in the wake of more cup disappointment.

Reds beat Worcester in Thursday night's Dr Martens League Cup final second leg but that was not enough to erase the 4-0 first leg nightmare.

He will release a retained list within a week of his team's final match against Newport County next Saturday.

Smith, under fire from disgruntled boo boys, was full of fighting talk on Thursday evening.

But he conceded: "We're not good enough. The side showed some good early form but we have been on a slippery slide ever since.

"There have been setbacks that haven't helped, like Keith Sharman getting injured and losing games we should have won.

"But the boys tend to feel the pressure too much from me and the fans.

"Good players should be able to handle it and that's not what we have been able to do.

"I will be making some changes to the team in the summer. I have to but supporters will need to be patient."

Fans were calling for Smith's head during last weekend's defeat against Tamworth and again on Thursday.

But the Reds boss hit back, saying: "Some sections of the Brighton crowd were demanding for Micky Adams' sacking last season and look what he's done.

"I'm the boss and it's me who gets the flak when things go wrong and if we win I'm the best thing since sliced bread."

Smith is a sensible and experienced manager and his record at Crawley is second to none. He has twice saved the club from relegation and the Crawley directors are more than happy with their manager.

Smith added: "Screaming abuse doesn't help anyone - it certainly doesn't do any good for the players."