Boss John Gregory admits Crawley must become more ruthless in front of goal if they are to avoid being dragged into a relegation battle.

Reds squandered a hatful of chances as they went down 2-1 at Port Vale last night. It was their fourth consecutive defeat in League One and left them six points above the drop zone.

Billy Clarke had given Crawley the lead from the penalty spot in the first half but missed another golden chance to make it 2-1 moments before Dannie Bulman was sent off to swing the contest in Vale’s favour.

Gregory said: “It was a brilliant performance, probably the best since I have been at the club, so it is difficult to explain how we lost.

“But that is the harsh reality of football. You don’t necessarily have to play well to win matches but you do have to take your chances.

“We could have been 4-0 up at half-time and we can’t afford to keep missing chances like that to win games.

“We’ve got Crewe at home on Saturday followed by two tough away games (against Brentford and MK Dons) so it is important we get a result in that one.”