David Artell steps up search for two after losing Hollands.

David Artell says he will perform due diligence on midfield players after losing Billy Bingham and Danny Hollands this summer. Both have set to return south for family reasons but Artell is confident that he will recruit suitable replacements.

Hollands,31, informed the Crewe boss earlier this week that he is considering a move to a club closer to his Hampshire family home.

Artell told the club’s official web-site: “We are on the look-out for midfielders. I understand their decisions because they want to move back down south. Their family should always come first.

“That’s football and you have to move on. We’ll get back into the office and do the analysis on midfield players. It doesn’t change too much because we knew that Billy was going. We had to replace him anyway, and now that Danny has gone we have another void to fill.

“On the plus side there is more money to play with.”