Crewe Alexandra boss on tough Blackpool Test

David Artell expects a difficult away assignment at Blackpool this weekend but says that after achieving back-to-back home wins, his team will be going there with renewed optimism. The Crewe Alexandra boss has great respect for the Seasiders boss Gary Bowyer and having watched them in action recently knows that they are a tough nut to crack.

Ahead of our weekend game at Bloomfield Road, the Crewe boss said: “Blackpool are a good side and they can play their football or mix it up like Wycombe did against us. They have technical players and while they do not score too many goals, they do not concede many either. They are a tough side and Gary is a fantastic manager.

“He should never have lost his job at Blackburn but their loss has been Blackpool’s gain and we know we have to bang at it again.

“I went to watch them against Crawley with John (Dillon) and I have also watched the DVD of their game against Portsmouth this week, so we know what to expect. They are well organised and have players in the team with that quality that can hurt you.

“We go into the game with confidence though. We have won two home games, so why shouldn’t we think we can get something from the game. Whilst losing can become a habit, so can winning, so we have to try and keep our little run going.

Artell added: “Some of that belief has come back but we are not kidding ourselves. There is a lot of hard work to be done. We have beaten Grimsby and Wycombe at home and it’s been a decent start but that is all it is.”