CRAWLEY 2 CITY 1

DEREK Adams needs more than a cuddle right now.

He could do with a couple more fit strikers, a functioning midfield and a defence that can keep a clean sheet.

Because currently, City are lacking in all those departments.

It’s going to take more than a hug to improve the manager’s mood after slating a wretched display in Sussex.

The track record in Crawley makes poor reading – just the one win when the likes of Mason Bennett and Billy Knott inspired a 2014 victory for Phil Parkinson.

This latest attempt was every bit as awful as the no-show under Gary Bowyer that preceded his swift demise at the start of 2020.

Adams seethed at the final whistle and chose his words carefully. But the anger clearly seeped from every pore.

The Scot was more forthright with his players. The paint on the away dressing room walls will have blistered from the invective that poured out.

But a half-time rollicking had obviously made no difference; sending the team back out early like naughty schoolboys having little effect on such a listless effort.

“My eyes don’t lie” had been the warning in the week towards those tasked with winning a place in the starting line-up. But this time it was the leading cast fluffing the lines.

Adams had described the 16 players he has regularly gone to in the league as “top notch”. Saturday’s evidence made that claim appear laughable.

It was deeply disturbing viewing for the manager and those 448 unfortunate souls who had paid for the privilege of watching their team.

Think of that valuable petrol wasted on a 500-mile round hike from West Yorkshire to West Sussex. Might as well have poured it down the drain.

To be honest, queueing for an hour and a quarter on a Crawley garage forecourt for some gold-dust diesel was probably the most painless part of a long day.

Crawley were no great shakes; bang average if you’re being picky.

They are not expected to be among the League Two frontrunners come the business end of the season.

But they were still comfortably better than the rabble who opposed them.

Promotion contenders? The eyes don’t lie. City looked a million miles away from the side who only a month ago were romping into the campaign with 10 points in four games.

Two from five since, not counting successive 3-0 home losses in the Papa John’s Trophy, have painted a far bleaker picture.

You could rightly argue that the performances have deserved a better return. Until Saturday, that is.

The injuries bite deep – Charles Vernam was a big miss given the way he has been playing in recent weeks.

Take six players out of any squad, from Premier League down, and it’s going to hurt.

But still, this is meant to be a group built for a proper tilt towards the top.

Adams has looked to assemble a dressing room where there are two players battling it out for each position. It seemed at Crawley that too many were simply prepared to chuck in the towel.

Yes, the likes of Vernam, Niall Canavan, Abo Eisa and Lee Angol – who is assuming an Alan Shearer-esque reputation in his extended absence – will make a big difference. It’s not the time for panic.

But as their boss pointed out, those currently filling the shirts should be good enough to compete against hosts who look mid-table candidates.

Crawley had received a surprise visit from Bob Geldof and the Boomtown Rats in the week ahead of their gig in the town.

The City players certainly won’t like Monday when Adams gets his hands on them again for the start of another intense spell on the training ground.

He arrived at Valley Parade with a proud promotion CV and a reputation for not suffering fools or shirkers. Anyone who dips below his high demands will be told in no uncertain terms.

And now the gloves are off. Adams is not here to win friends but to try to influence people and change a losing culture that has built up since the Wembley near-miss of 2017.

“There are reasons” was his cryptic response to the disappointments that have followed. Even with 10 new faces since he took over, you sense the shake-up he wants is very much in its infancy.

Of course, managers are judged on results and his own stock suffers with each poor outcome. Adams will be well aware of the vitriol that will rain down on the pitch – and the dug-out – if City come up short again when Rochdale visit Valley Parade on Saturday.

He got a taste of the boo boys after Barrow and that friction will only intensify the longer this winless rut continues.

The three league wins have come against teams who currently occupy three of the bottom five places. City have faced only one of the top five – and lost a poor game at Leyton Orient.

Missed chances could not be used as a decisive factor on their latest pointless excursion down south.

For all his talk of xG stats, Adams admitted that the Bantams hoped for a goal rather than expected one.

They did blow two decent headed opportunities – Andy Cook, who seems to be growing more forlorn as each week passes, powered over at 0-0 and Yann Songo’o forced Glenn Morris into his only save soon after Crawley had broken the dull deadlock.

Songo’o, to be fair, was the only man in blue to emerge with any credit after adding some ballast in the middle of the park. Not that his manager considered he was worth the exception in his “zero positives” verdict.

But those around him came up way short with little intent or conviction about the play going forward – nor enough defensive nous to prevent two poor goals.

While the focus has been on the misfiring in front of the opposition net, it’s now 11 games since City managed their only clean sheet of the season on day one at Exeter.

Crawley’s opener interrupted 39 minutes of sterile stalemate.

Jake Hessenthaler, who had headed over their only chance up to that point, was given too much space to pick his spot to cross and Will Ferry nipped in the gap between Paudie O’Connor and Oscar Threlkeld to side-foot into the corner.

The second, after Ludwig Francillette had hit the bar, was equally weak from a City perspective.

Crawley worked a throw-in from right to left and left back Nick Tsaroulla was allowed all the room he needed to line up a drive that went through Richard O’Donnell.

Callum Cooke got off the mark in the league with an assist from Ollie Crankshaw but it made no difference to the outcome, nor what his manager thought on a chastening afternoon.