Neil Critchley has expressed his delight in how well the under 18's side have taken to the 2007/2008 season so far.

As the half way break approaches for our youngsters 'Critch' told Crewe Alex World just how looks back on the first half of the season and how pleased he is with the boys so far.

He says: "I think its mainly positives at this time, the boys have acquitted themselves really well, I have the say that the majority of them, if not all of them, with how they have done, obviously some have played more than others, but generally it's been good.

Neil is convinced that despite the fact it can be tough for the Scholars adapting to full time training, the boys have handled it well and will use their 9 day break to fire themselves up for the next half of the season. The hard work has been put in both on and off the field, in games and in training and when asked to pick some highlights from recent months, their coach is able to reel off a host of memories.

He told Crewe Alex World: "The high's you're looking at the Manchester United game, that performance away from home, the FA Youth Cup win at Cambridge, the experience of going to Aston Villa, I know that was also a disappointment but it was a great experience. The boys have acquitted themselves really well, and not just in the games either in training too.

"Me and James (Collins) have both been really pleased with how things have gone so far."

You can see the full interview with Critch later this afternoon only on Crewe Alex World.