David Artell says he is looking forward to this weekend’s seasonal opener against Mansfield Town following a comfortable 3-1 win over a Stoke City XI on Sunday.

An outstanding first half performance at Gresty Road saw George Cooper, Chris Porter and Eddie Nolan on target before Mark Waddington scored a late consolation goal for the Potters.

Artell is expecting a much higher tempo when Steve Evans’ brings the promotion favourite Stags to Gresty Road on Saturday, but he is looking to make an early mark in the EFL season.

David told the club’s official web-site:  “We have tried to give all of our players the right amount of game time. That is why we have played two games in two days a lot over the pre-season.

“We have prepared right to make sure the players will run the course of the season. We know that the opening game is the important one because we will be playing for three points again.

“There is always a lot placed on the first game and we are aware of that but players do not always peak until 6, 7, 10 games in but we will see where we are at on Saturday.

“Mansfield are the bookies favourites to win promotion, so we know it will be a test for us.

“Steve (Evans) has won promotions before and he is a good manager. He has made plenty of new signings so it will be interesting to see who he selects. We are just looking forward to it and I’m sure Mansfield are as well.”