David Artell says the work load conducted by his players this pre-season has them right on point to be ready for the new season.

Artell takes his squad to Macclesfield’s Moss Rose this evening for the latest of our pre-season games and he says that the training ground work will now be shorter and more intense as we prepare for our EFL opener against Mansfield on the opening day of the season.

The Crewe Alexandra boss has been pleased with the way the pre-season plans have gone thus far.

“The players have worked hard and if that means they have tired a bit towards the end of the pre-season games then so be it. I want them to get used to that and dig in like they have to do at Barrow and then Bury, ‘says Dave.

“The pre-season games are important for fitness and we will face another test against Macclesfield this evening. If they are direct and in our faces then great, that is what we want because we are going to get it in League Two.

“We have done better in the footballing games, against Wigan and Bury but we have stood up well to the physical stuff as well.

“The aim of pre-season is to make sure we are ready for the season, not just Mansfield on the opening day. There are 50 odd games to play and the challenge is to make sure we last the distance. We look at the bigger picture.

“We will shorten the training periods and make them high intensity. We will do shorter, sharper stuff to work on the hamstrings and the quads after working on the hearts and lungs.

The boss added: “They will be as fit as they possibility can be and I am pleased with where they are now. They are where they should be.”