Crewe boss says Stewart deal gives club enough time to really assess his potential

Steve Davis says the offer of a six-month deal will provide new signing Anthony Stewart with enough time to earn himself an even longer contract at the club. Stewart, 22, signed on a permanent deal from Wycombe Wanderers yesterday after impressing enough on a short -term loan deal.

During his initial loan spell, Stewart was a regular for James Collins’ Under-21 side but he was dramatically called into action on Boxing Day when George Ray was dismissed at Oldham. He came on to help the club achieve a superb 2-1 win with ten men. He then kept his place for the visit of Preston North End two days later and performed admirably up against the former England International Kevin Davies.

His overall performance in the 1-1 draw nearly saw him claim the sponsors Man-of-the-Match award, only to be beaten by the club’s in-form goalkeeper Ben Garratt.

Steve Davis told crewealex.net: “Anthony played really well against Preston but it is difficult to judge any player on one and half games. We know he has potential. He has already shown that and he has good attributes for us to work with, but even at 22, there is room for improvement and he knows that.

“There are things we can work on with him and he will get that coaching here. We wanted to have that opportunity to work with him and give him that chance to earn another contract. He is happy with that and now he has to push for his place here.

“He has got to show that he is worth a longer deal. We have three or four defenders out of contract in the summer and we can now include Anthony in that. We have time to look at him and make a decision over the next five months.”