Neil Baker excited by young and vibrant squad

Crewe Alexandra’s assistant manager Neil Baker is convinced that there is plenty of potential in the squad and that one or two of the younger ones may surprise us next season. Baker is excited by the influx of a collection of Academy graduates and says there is still more to come from the likes of Ollie Turton, Liam Nolan, Ryan Colclough, Bradden Inman and Mathias Pogba.

Baker told the club’s official web-site: “We always expect our players to go and they surprise you at different times. I don’t think anyone really expected to see Liam Nolan play as many games as he did or Ben Garratt to do as well as he has done for us in his first full season. Then we have Ollie Turton, who finished the season strongly and Jon Guthrie who showed that he could play at this level.

“Then we have the likes of Brad, who we didn’t see the best of last season and hopefully Ryan will play more of a significant part after his injuries. Pogba is still going in the right direction and has scored goals at this level.

“The potential is there even before you get to the ones we have signed as young professionals. They are not expected to go in and play in the first team but they may just surprise you and that is the real enjoyment we get out of it. You never quite know with potential.”