David Artell has praised his captain Chris Dagnall following his recent positional switch. With injuries to midfield players, James Jones, Ryan Wintle and Tom Lowery, Dagnall has been operating as a midfield player in recent weeks and Artell says that the 31-year-old has embraced the challenge.

The Crewe boss told the club’s official website: “Daggers is a great pro and we spoke to him about him playing midfield a few weeks ago. If I’m honest, his eyes lit up a bit. It is something different for him, but he has played there over 20 times before for Barnsley in the Championship.

“So it is not totally unfamiliar for him and he has the character and physical attributes to suit the role. He can get around the pitch and hurry the opposition into mistakes. He wins the ball back and has the licence to get forward as well. He has been magnificent for us and leads by example.

“He has produced a captain’s performance every week and full credit to him. He is doing a great job for the team at the minute.”