Francis Vines leads the Crawley frontline tomorrow, insisting: "I'm a man who can get us out of a crisis."

The veteran striker has answered boss Billy Smith's SOS call and will replace out-of-sorts Mark Hynes in the top-of-the-table crunch game against Welling.

Crawley have lost their last three matches, two of them in the premier division against lesser teams, but Vines insists it is time to wipe the slate clean.

He said: "We've got to pretend the season starts against Welling and forget the last three matches. There's little point crying over spilt milk. The lads in this squad are good players and will be there or thereabouts at the end of the season.

"The team is on a bit of a roundabout at the moment. Now we've got to get it swinging back in the right direction with three points against Welling."

Vines has scored three goals this season, but only made one start against Merthyr Tydfil, a game which saw him add to the two he got as a supersub at Dorchester.

The Reds marksman is sure to have a positive influence on his team-mate's morale tomorrow.

Smith said although his men remained top of the division, players' morale was at the lowest since he took charge.

Hynes, who has scored five goals in 12 league games, was the victim of some verbal abuse from Reds fans at Moor Green last Saturday.

The ex-Dover and Welling striker, prolific at Conference level, has recently become a dad. His girlfriend gave birth to their baby girl prematurely and remains in hospital. Smith believes that has been on his mind.

Smith said: "He's not been doing well recently and it's clear the lad has had other things on his mind. Mark has always been a goalscorer, but his confidence is low and needs to be rebuilt."

Vines is delighted to be given the chance to take up the challenge in the starting line-up.

He said: "I've got a few goals when I've played and am really up for Welling. They'll be up for it too, because their form has been dodgy recently."

At training on Tuesday night, the Reds team were shown a video of their 2-1 FA Cup defeat against Aldershot.

Midfielder Danny Carroll admitted: "In that match, we struggled to string three passes together. When you look at the players we've got, it's clear we should do better.

"The confidence has slipped, but there's no reason why we can't string a good run together."