Boss confident that his side's impressive home form can continue to see us exit a potential relegation scrap

Steve Davis says he is relieved to be see his Crewe Alexandra side return to Gresty Road after two tough away fixtures at the top two, Bristol City and Preston North End. As the underdogs, Crewe were beaten twice and conceded eight goals into the bargain, but Davis is confident that the defeats have not affected morale and that his players are ready for the visit of Oldham Athletic tomorrow afternoon.

Ahead of the visiting Latics, Steve told the club’s official web-site: “It is nice to be back at home. We have had two tough away games and if we had got anything from either of them then it would have been a bonus for us.

“We had 11 games to know what we had to do, now we have 9 games and still know what we need to do to make sure we are not dragged back into it. We have five home games and four away games left and if we can continue our good home form and win some of those games against clubs that are in-and-around us then we will get the points we need.

“Our home form has been good. We didn’t start off very well at home but going into the Christmas it improved and it has been good. I have been pleased with it.

“It is nice to play in front of our own fans and when they get behind us from the first minute then it can make a real difference to this young group. The lads have worked hard to make us difficult to beat at home. We had the one real blip against the MK Dons but we responded superbly well.

He added: “The fans will play their part tomorrow. I can sometimes sense the nerves and anxiety coming down from the stands and I understand that because they will be biting their nails at times, but they will be important to make some noise and generate a good atmosphere for the lads to express themselves.”