Alex keeper says side improved against Stanley

Steve Phillips admits the win against Accrington Stanley was a much needed one for the Alex. Following a 5-0 defeat against Swindon Town on Saturday, the Alex bounced-back with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Accrington Stanley in midweek.

Phillips told Crewe Alex Player earlier today that he felt Steve Davis was looking for a reaction in the Accrington game. While the performance wasn’t exactly as he would have liked, he felt the reaction was there.

However Phillips has warned the Alex will have to improve against Peterborough on Saturday: “We needed the win against Accrington. Firstly we are the holders of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy and we want to give a good account ourselves in the competition and see if we can challenge for it again.

“Secondly we haven’t had the best start to the season. Confidence is down a little bit and we wanted to get back on the winning road which we did. We weren’t at our best in the game and probably need to get the ball forward quicker, but the boss was looking for a reaction after the Swindon game and I think he got that.

“It was good to keep a clean sheet and win the game but we will need to go up a level on Saturday against Peterborough because they are one of the top teams in this division.”