Boss says young forward has been terrific in training this week after being left out at Pompey.
David Artell has praised the ‘terrific attitude’ of George Cooper in training this week. The winger was left out of the starting line-up against Portsmouth last weekend for tactical reasons. Artell stiffened up his midfield resolve to allow him to go with two up front at Fratton Park and it paid off with George Ray’s first goal of the season giving us a priceless three points.
Artell decided to leave Cooper out for the Pompey trip but he may elect to bring him back into the fold for the visit of bottom club Newport tomorrow. The Crewe Alexandra boss is understandably keeping his team a closely guarded secret, but he has praised Cooper’s response this week.
Artell told the club’s official web-site: “I’ve spoken to George and explained the situation and how we did for tactical reasons and he was fine about it. He accepted that and his response this week, I must say, has been terrific. His attitude has been great in training.
“It was a great response from him, the right response. His reaction to being left out has been top drawer.
He added: “George has had a really good season and we know that he is a good player. He is a top player and it just goes to show how good the competition is here. We left arguably our best player out to go to Portsmouth and won the game.”