Crawley boss welcomes back McNerney

Reds boss Mark Yates was delighted to see central defender Joe McNerney finally get on the pitch having been out of the side since October due to a knee injury.
Joe McNerney takes a shot from close range for Crawley Town against Exeter City, 28th March 2016. (c) Jack Beard SUS-160328-173844008Joe McNerney takes a shot from close range for Crawley Town against Exeter City, 28th March 2016. (c) Jack Beard SUS-160328-173844008
Joe McNerney takes a shot from close range for Crawley Town against Exeter City, 28th March 2016. (c) Jack Beard SUS-160328-173844008

Although Crawley lost Easter Monday’s match 2-0 at home to Exeter City, the former Woking player’s return from the substitutes’ bench in place of Jon Ashton with 11 minutes to go was a welcome boost.

Yates said: “It’s great to have Joe back. Like Lanre Oyebanjo, Joe has been out for a lot of the season and he’s been desperate to return.

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“He had 90 minutes against Portsmouth in a friendly a couple of weeks ago, so Monday was another step forward. We’ve got another seven games and I’m sure Joe is keen to finish the season strongly.”

McNerney said: “I’ve not been much fun to be around in the last few months. Like Banj, I have never been out for this length of time and it’s extremely tough mentally as well as physically with the rehab work you have to do.

“But I felt fine on Monday and hopefully I can get plenty of games between now and the end of the season.

“For me it almost feels like the season’s starting not nearly finished and I want to play in as many games as I can – hopefully starting at Bristol Rovers this Saturday.”

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