Boss hopes open day will see a number of fans return for the Stoke friendly on Sunday.

David Artell is hoping that the success of today’s open day will attract a few more supporters to Gresty Road for Sunday’s pre-season game with our near neighbours Stoke City. The Alex host the Potters at the Alexandra Stadium with the match kicking off at 3pm.

Artell is hoping that the local community will continue to get behind the Railwaymen this season and he is looking forward to another competitive pre-season friendly.

The Crewe boss told us: “I hope the local community had a good day with us at the open day. We wanted them to come down and see what we do as a squad and as a club. I’m sure the kids enjoyed it and it was nice to see so many young families.

“I hope some of them will get hooked and want to come and watch the games.

“We have a local one against Stoke on Sunday, so that is a good one to start with. It will be another good test for us and one we can look forward to.

"I want a competitive game. We don’t want a walkover and Stoke to come here and win 5-0 or whatever. I’m sure they will bring some first-team players and it will good for our fans to see Premier League players.

The boss added: “We want that challenge of playing against some top players and we will use it before rolling into next week and the opening game against Mansfield.”