Boss praises Tootle on the eve of his 200th match for the club

Crewe Alexandra manager Steve Davis praised the fighting spirit of his vice-captain Matt Tootle following the disappointing defeat to Nott County on Tuesday night. Tootle handed the captain’s armband back to returning Abdul Osman but continued to lead with his example with his performance.

Tootle, 23, was rightly named as the sponsors Man-of-the-Match and will certainly be a contender for the choice of Player-of-the-Season in early May.

career appearance for the club this weekend and Davis has been impressive with his growing maturity and leadership qualities. ^thTootle is expected to make his 200

appearance on Saturday and that is a tremendous achievement, especially when you consider his age. He doesn’t miss many games does he? ^thSteve told the club’s official web-site: “Matt is to make his 200

“He has been excellent for us this season and he was excellent again on Tuesday night. The only blemish on his performance was the cheap free-kick he gave away for their first goal. Apart from that he was rightly named man-of-the-match because he didn’t let his head drop and gave it a real go.

 “Matt is a fighter and leads by example. He has got better and better and we could do with a few more like him at the moment.”