Crawley Town's manager says his team are aiming to "spring a surprise" against Carlisle United and their respected boss Paul Simpson today.

The Sussex side have made waves this summer, signing players like Dom Telford after the takeover by cryptocurrency group WAGMI United.

But new Red Devils boss Kevin Betsy believes Carlisle's strength under Simpson, plus Crawley's poor recent record against the Blues, must be considered.

"First and foremost, Carlisle is managed by a fantastic human being in Paul Simpson," Betsy said.

"I know him really well, we worked together with England for a number of years.

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"He's an outstanding manager, will set up his team to be really well-organised, really compact and structured, but there will be a real threat in an attacking sense.

"He's been a manager for many years at a real high level, and it's no surprise that Carlisle took him back to be their manager once more.

"He's been promoted with Carlisle before, he's got loads of experience, and I see nothing but a really good outfit and we'll do our best to spring a surprise there.

"We haven't won there in about 40 years as a football club so let's try and put that to bed if we can."

Crawley, in fact, are winless in eight visits to Brunton Park, their only triumph coming in 2012 when future United man Nicky Adams scored in a 2-0 win.

Carlisle have won five and drawn three of their meetings in Cumbria since then, including an opening-day 2-1 win back in 2019.

News and Star: Ashley Nadesan, second right, scored in last season's 1-1 draw at Brunton Park (photo: Barbara Abbott)Ashley Nadesan, second right, scored in last season's 1-1 draw at Brunton Park (photo: Barbara Abbott)

Telford, ex-Swindon captain Dion Conroy and a host of other summer signings should be involved for Betsy's side today.

Ex-United forward Ashley Nadesan is also in the Crawley ranks.

"We're really excited. We've had a fantastic pre-season both on and off the pitch, and now it's time to show what the hard work we've done in pre-season in the league," said Betsy in a club interview.

"We're looking forward to the experience.

"We're very thankful to the owners and everyone involved with the club, with the signings we've made.

"We feel we've got a real good blend of experience and youth that will help us in our journey.

"There's new owners, new coaching staff, new manager and [some] new players.

"It's a case of doing our talking on the pitch. Everyone can talk about what we're doing off the pitch, but when it comes to game time you've got to produce."