Neil Lennon compliments Youth Team on their top performance against his Bolton kids

Steve Davis has revealed that our former midfielder Neil Lennon was full of praise for the performance of the Crewe Alexandra youth team against the Bolton youngsters on Wednesday evening.

Crewe’s youth team progressed to round five of the FA Youth Cup thanks to a convincing 5-0 win over Bolton and now face either Royston or Arsenal in the next round.

Lennon, who has helped transform the fortunes of Bolton Wanderers in the Skybet Championship, even expressed his admiration for our boys’ performance by popping into their dressing room at the end of the game.

Steve told the club’s official web-site: “I thought it was an excellent performance from the Youth team. You could see that Alex (Morris) and Kenny (Lunt) had done their homework and prepared the team accordingly.

“They controlled the game from start to finish and that is very rare, especially in youth football. Normally, the opposition will have periods in the game but I don’t think Bolton had a genuine chance over the 90 minutes.

“Our boys didn’t let them get a foot hold in the game and I told Alex afterwards that is as good as it can get as a manager. You cannot ask for any more than that and I am sure the fans who came out to watch had a really enjoyable evening as well.

“Neil (Lennon) was excellent afterwards. He went into the dressing room to compliment the lads on their performance and we shared a drink and had a chat in the board room afterwards.

“He was full of admiration for Crewe, the club and what we did for his career. He spoke fondly of Dario and John and how the club stood by him when he needed a career-saving back operation. He is indebted to the club.

He added: “Neil also spoke of our club identity in the game and how we try and play. He loved the fact that young boys played with flair and skill and it has high praise from someone who has achieved so much in the game as both a player and manager.

“I’ve got to know Neil over the years, since he was playing and I have always got on well with him. He has a great fondness for Crewe and there is a lot of mutual respect between us.”