Davis pleased with hard fought win over Preston

He added: "I can leave today in a positive frame of mind because there were a lot of good performances. I will take as many as I can to Wembley and see who is available, but it has given me food for thought."

"Brad has got in there again to score the winning goal and that is what he can offer us with his bursts into the box. He can take a goal and we did miss him when he was injured.

"It just gives us a boost and it was a great win. I was pleased with it because we had a young team out. I think the average age of the team of the day was 21 or 22 and it was a tough battle but they came through it. They all gave 100% and worked hard and it was very pleasing to get the clean sheet.

The Alex boss told crewealex.net: "The win has given us a real confidence boost ahead of Sunday. It was important and it was nice to win at home. Of course, players can get themselves up for a one off game like a final and they will be up for it.

Steve Davis was delighted that his young side came through a tough encounter against Preston North End at Gresty Road. Bradden Inman scored the only goal of the game in the first half and the Railwaymen defended superbly well to seal a clean-sheet and all three points. The Alex boss says the 1-0 win will be a confidence boost ahead of the trip to Wembley on Sunday.