Coach praises Atkinson's application to get himself back intothe Alex team.

James Collins says that having a fit and in-form Chris Atkinson has been a real bonus going into the new season. The former Huddersfield midfielder was handed his first start of the season against Swindon Town on Saturday, after Billy Bingham was ruled out with the hamstring strain he had picked up at Wigan the previous week.

Atkinson produced a consistent display in the Alex midfield, forcing a couple of good saves from the Swindon Town goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux as Crewe pressed to make their possession count. He was replaced late on for George Cooper as Crewe aimed for that first win of the new campaign.

The club’s first team coach says that Atkinson’s attitude to challenge for a place should not be underestimated after we bought in three new midfield players during the summer.

James told crewealex.net: “The lads that we bought in during the summer to improve our midfield have certainly added to our football and our desire to play the Crewe way again.

“We have got Foxy, Billy and Kingy here on loan and we can add Chris (Atkinson) and James (Jones) to that. The competition is great for those three positions and that is what Steve (Davis) wanted to create.

“Chris has done well throughout the summer and had a positive pre-season. He didn’t get a full pre-season last season because he came in fairly late and by his own standards last season was a bit stop-start for him because of injuries and a bit of loss of form because of that. He just couldn’t get going on a consistent basis.

“He hasn’t had that this summer and he has come back fitter and stronger. He has been a real bonus for us and the others know they have a fight on their hands to stay in the team.”