David Artell expects a tough home assignment against promotion chasing Colchester.

David Artell wants his Crewe Alexandra side to get within two wins of safety with three home points against Colchester United this weekend. The Alex boss wants his players to to acquire as many points as they can from the 27 still available but he knows he faces a tough task against play-off hopefuls Colchester United.

The U’s had a great 2-0 win over rivals Mansfield on Tuesday evening and are currently just three points off sixth placed Exeter City.

Ahead of our home clash with John McGreal’s side, Artell said: “Our first objective is to get safe. We are not there yet but we are heading in the right direction. Once we are safe then we can start looking towards the future a bit more.

“We face a tough game this weekend against a good Colchester side. They will look to play more football than say a Newport but they can also mix it up when they need to. They have Chris Porter up there and he has been there and done it, so we know they can play up to him if needs be as well.

“If I was the Colchester manager I would be saying come on lets go for it. They are bang in the mix for a play-off place and they have a great chance. They have been a bit inconsistent like us and whichever team turns up on the day, will win the game.

Artell added: “We have got to be brave on the ball, like we were at Crawley. We got the ball down and played our football and when we do that we are a match for anyone in this league. I honestly believe that.”