Crawley releases leave Smith shocked

Former Crawley midfielder Ben Smith says he is "surprised" after the club announced the departures of Pablo Mills and Dean Howell.

The duo left the West Sussex club on free transfers on Tuesday and were the high-profile names among a list containing Smith, John Dempster, Glenn Wilson and Byron Napper. And 33-year-old Smith, who made 68 appearances for the Reds, is shocked by the club's decision to release the players following their promotion to Leauge One. He told the Crawley Observer: "There are a couple of surprises in there, that Dean and Pablo have been released. "They have done really well for the club and are probably the two players that people will be most surprised about, and I am one of them." Crawley are still without a full-time manager after Steve Evans left Broadfield Stadium for Rotherham in April, despite gaining promotion on the final day of the season.