McNerney still harbours hopes of play-off places

The Red Devils currently sit 16th in the table, 11 points off Exeter City in seventh and the final play-off place.

A tricky spell has seen Crawley face three of the current top-six in their last three matches.

However with just 11 games left this season, Reds have an easier run coming up against just two teams occupying a spot in the play-off positions at present.

Taking the final run of fixtures into account, 27-year-old defender McNerney believes there is no limit to what could be achieved come the end of the season.

He said: “This division is all about momentum and there is no reason why we can’t go on a run and get in and around the play-off places. If we can go a few games without losing, picking up some wins along the way, who knows where we could end up.

“We’re just below mid-table at the minute but there are only seven points separating us and tenth at the minute. We’ve gone on runs this season, especially at home, so there is no reason why we can’t repeat something similar in the final games and push up the table.”

Having missed a large part of last season through a serious knee-injury, McNerney has been a near ever-present this season.

The defender suffered a minor setback last month after missing three matches through a hamstring injury.

McNerney admitted that was just a precaution and has been pleased after a return to the team.

He added: “Last season was a really tough one for me personally. I’d been fortunate enough not to have sustained a serious injury prior to my stint out last season.

“I picked up a slight hamstring strain, then missed a couple of matches as a precaution. It wasn’t a tear or anything more serious but I just felt the best decision was to rest it and not risk injuring myself further.”

Saturday’s home clash with Doncaster Rovers was their third in just seven days, with a further four games to come over the course of 14 days to complete a hectic run of fixtures.

With the matches coming thick and fast, McNerney hopes Crawley can gain some momentum picking up some positive results.

He said: “As I’ve said before this league is all about momentum. We’ve had a busy schedule and we’ve still got a few games to come over a short-spell coming up.

“After Portsmouth the games do get a little easier, though, no match is a given in this league.

“We’ve faced a tricky run, hopefully we’ll come out of it a better team and well placed to start picking up positive results between now and the end of the season.”