Boss says he will aim to get his squad as fit as the Thordarson era as players report back for full training.

Steve Davis has told the club’s official web-site that he will aim to emulate the work of former manager Gudjon Thordarson when it comes to the players’ fitness this summer. The Icelander was renowned for his punishing pre-season regime and is credited for creating one of the fittest Crewe squads for many years.

Steve told crewealex.net: “Gudjon was criticised for a number of things when he was here but one thing you couldn’t fault him for was the fitness of the players. He certainly got them fit and the sessions could be tough.

“I tried to take that on board when I took over and I got them fitter. We were able to take that into the games and with the quality we had, albeit a league below, we were able to go on a terrific run and win promotion. It was a great achievement and once based on the players being fitter and recovering better.

Steve added: “If you can get players as fit and as sharp as you can, then you have a great chance in any game. It can give you that extra edge in the last ten minutes and that is what we will be looking at.”