Steve says Alex will have to work hard to silence Bramall Lane crowd

Steve Davis will warn his players that they cannot afford to let Sheffield United ignite their passionate crowd at Bramall Lane this Saturday. Crewe have already faced the Blades this season after previously drawing them in the FA Cup and having to travel to Sheffield for a replay after a goalless first encounter at the Alexandra Stadium.

Nigel Clough’s side will be looking to secure their place in the top six and could yet possibly grab one of the automatic places if they can go on an extraordinary run.

The Blades are currently four unbeaten after beating Scunthorpe 4-0 in mid-week and Davis is wary of letting the Bramall Lane crowd play their part. Sheffield United scored an early goal against the Iron on Tuesday evening and they ran out comfortable winners after a very good performance in front of a crowd close to 20,000.

Steve told the club’s official web-site: “We cannot allow Sheffield United and their crowd get up a head of steam. Their crowd can be very helpful. They are very passionate and it can make things difficult but that type of expectation and atmosphere can work both ways.

“We will have to go there and try and frustrate them. We will have to defend well and be solid. It is our aim to try and keep that big crowd quiet and turn it around a bit into our favour.

He added: “If we can play well and cause them some problems then they could became a bit anxious but we will have to approach that type of game better than we did previously at Preston and Bristol City. We played in patches in both of those games and didn’t create enough opportunities of our own.”