BBC Southern Counties Radio reports that new Hearts boss Graham Rix was the first choice of the Crawley board for their vacant manager's position.
Rix, 48, became the surprise choice at the Edinburgh club after being out of the game since March after dismissal from the manager's job at Oxford. The suggestion that Rix could have become the new manager led many Crawley fans to voice their disapproval over his 1999 conviction for underage sex with a 15 year old girl.
The loss of Rix means the Crawley board will now have to rethink their choice, and no announcement is now expected this week. Earlier, consultant Alan Mullery expressed his surprise at the quality of applicants for the job: "We are in a very nice dilemma of having so many people to choose from and it is going to be quite tough to pull out a name. There are still ten people in with a shout and most of them fit the bill. We know exactly what we need but it is a case of trying to pick the best candidate for the job and that is going to take a little while. We would have liked very much to have got someone in place before Saturday but I don't think it is going to happen."