Manager Steve Davis feels his team will only improve this season

Steve Davis has told the club’s official web-site that the progress of the club will depend on what players he can hold onto in the future. The Alex boss has had to cope with losing two of his outstanding players’ from last season, with Nick Powell and Ashley Westwood joining Premier League clubs in the summer and he remains fearful that bigger clubs may come knocking for more assets in the January transfer window and next summer.

Steve, who completed a year in charge of the club with a 3-2 win over Colchester on Saturday, told crewealex.net: “I think we are heading in the right direction, but there is a still of work to be done. It is a lot more challenging in this league for everyone but we are enjoying it.

“Much will depend on who stays and who goes from the club. It will also be important for more talented youngsters to come through the system and I have also believed that if they are good enough and have quality then they will play. I won’t throw them for the sake of it, they have to earn to the right.

“The finances of the club will dictate a lot of what we can and can’t do, but I think we have a good group here who can compete. They will only get better with experience and improve. I don’t want to be languishing towards the bottom, I want us to establish ourselves and take it from there.

He added: “Like, I’ve always said you are always fearful of losing your better players and we had to deal with losing two of our better players in the summer, but we have shown that we can cope. Hopefully, we can keep our better players in the window and if we can’t then we are always preparing for the one that will have to step in either from our own here or from outside.”