United come into the game on the back of a full week on the training pitch and with one point on the board following last week’s 1-1 draw at home to Newport County.
Speaking about the week to iFollow Iron, he said: “It’s been really good, and interesting too.
“On Tuesday, we had 24 people on the training pitch and on Thursday we had 26. We’ve got a big squad but everyone is raring to go. Training has stepped up a little bit again.
“We’ve had Jordan (Clarke) come back into full-time training. He’s a quality player and he’s raring to go and raring to get into my first team, which is excellent.
“Manny (Onariase) has come back into the group and he’s another experienced player for me - another 24-year-old experienced player that I’ve got in my camp, with a lot of quality.
“It gives me more options, but I need to get them fit at the moment. They could do with a game to help them out, but it’s not easy with the COVID-19 situation. They’ll need a game to play and they’re knocking on my door to see when they’re available.”
The first away trip of the season brings new logistics into play, with the Iron travelling down on Friday and staying overnight ahead of the game. With the pandemic bringing a new normal, extra precautions are being taken ahead of the game.
While being alert and aware of the protocols in place, the Scunthorpe boss is keen for his players to focus on the job in hand.
“It’s a long one to Crawley and it will be a difficult game as well,” he continued.
“They’ve usually got a really good home record but we’re looking forward to our first league game away from home and hopefully we can put on a similar performance to the one in the second half last week.
“We’ve been going through them all week to make sure we are doing things properly. We’re taking two coaches down there, so it’ll be a little bit different. The boys are organised, they know what they’re doing and the main thing is that we concentrate on our football and let the people in the offices in the background, who have done a great job so far, look after that situation.
“Everyone behind the scenes have been doing everything right and they’re passing the information onto us.”
It’s two weeks since the Iron’s positive COVID-19 case, with an unnamed player and John McAtee - who was in close contact with that player - both self-isolating. The boss gave a final thought on the duo.
“They will be back in next week to train,” he stated.
“We didn’t have them in the latter part of this week because we're going to be travelling. They will be back in the camp next week.”
See much more from Neil Cox on iFollow Iron. Click here to buy a £10 Crawley v Iron match pass.
