Steve Davis wants his players to play the game and not the occasion

Crewe Alexandra manager Steve Davis wants his players to keep as calm as possible in the arena of tomorrow’s local derby at Gresty Road. The Railwaymen are still searching for their first league points of the season, whilst our near neighbours come into the first derby of the season without a win in five games themselves.

Davis wants his players to play the game rather than the occasion to make sure we give ourselves the best chance of getting a result against Micky Adams’ side.

Ahead of the derby clash, Davis told the club’s official web-site: “I want the players to have a calm approach to the game and not get carried away with the crowd or the occasion. That is always important in these types of games.

“The atmosphere is always fantastic for these games but I don’t want our players to get dragged into it or be affected by it. I want their minds to remain calm and controlled and transfer what they do every day in training out onto the pitch.

“I want us to focus on what we need to do on the day to get the result. All I can ask of the players is for them to give everything they have and not to leave anything on the pitch after the 90 plus minutes.

He added: “If we can transfer what we have done during the week into the game then we have every chance of getting a result. I’ve said before that becoming a good and successful team is about consistency. We know how important the game is to everyone and how hard it is to get a result against Port Vale but it is like that every week in this league.”