Steve Davis says his players will be ready when the serious stuff kicks off.

Steve Davis says that last weekend’s 3-0 defeat to Lincoln City was just a ‘blip in our preparation’ for the new season.

Crewe Alexandra were poor defensively in the first half, conceding two goals from set-plays and then a third goal in a second phase of play from a corner.

It left manager Davis and his coaching staff frustrated, but it was better to get a first half performance like that out of the system ahead of the opening game of the season at Stevenage this weekend.

The Alex boss told crewealex.net: “I’ve gone with the same players for three or four games over the pre-season and the Lincoln game, during that first half was a blip. They are better than that.

“We conceded two goals from set plays and a third goal from a second phase of play from a corner. We can improve on that out on the training ground with the work.

“Sometimes you have to keep faith with who you think is your best eleven and back your judgement. In my head I have the team but there are still a couple of days training left before we travel to Stevenage.

 “If they train well then they could change my mind. It is all about how they approach it during the week and performing to the level.”