Boss says George's only aim is to retain his place in his side with the good form he is showing

Steve Davis says he will continue to protect teenager George Cooper following his recent promotion into the first-team. Cooper has started the last two matches for Crewe Alexandra, scoring his first goal at senior level in the club’s 2-1 win over Coventry City last weekend. The 17-year-old forward is expected to keep his place for the trip to Walsall this Saturday but Davis admits that his sole aim at the moment is to keep retaining his place on form.

The Crewe boss admitted to the club’s official web-site: “We can’t put our season on George’s shoulders. We have to remain careful with him and I don’t want a situation where he is elevated to a pedestal and the pressure mounts on him.

“We can’t control what scouts or the media do, but we have to keep it as low key as we can from our point of view.

“I’ve told George that he has to concentrate on staying in our team, first and foremost. He is in there on merit and has to keep it going.

“We have to remember that he is still very young and it’s still very early in his professional career.

“We have made it clear to George that he has to play well to stay in the team. If he doesn’t play well enough then we’ll take him out of the team. That can happen with young players.”