Crewe Alexandra manager David Artell says that the club will continue to test their younger players and provide them with opportunities to establish themselves in his first team plans.

Charlie Kirk, Tom Lowery, Ollie Finney and Lewis Reilly did their chances no harm with goals in our pre-season openers against Kidsgrove and Buxton.

Fellow Academy graduates Owen Dale, Harry Pickering and Callum Ainley have also made an impression since returning to full-time training this summer.

Artell told crewealex.net: “With younger players they will come in fits and starts. They will have their good games and there not so good, but you have to stick with them.

“On the first day of training, Callum (Ainley) looked like he had grown two inches. He looked more of a man than he did in May. That is their development and you have to wait for them.

“Tom has been on the sidelines for a while now through injury, but he looked fit and sharp. He scored a goal with a great little chip, a real bit of invention. He will come again be it two months, six months but we’ll wait.

“They are all on the right track and they all know that they have to stop goals, create goals or score goals to get into the team.”