Boss on youngster's progress

Young midfielder Ollie Finney deserved to make his first team debut on the final game of the season against Barnet and his new contract after becoming the ‘best player in the club’s Under-23s’. That is the view of boss David Artell after he had a chat with Finney when he returned from an unsuccessful loan spell with our neighbours Nantwich Town.

Finney was the first to sign a new deal with the club this summer and Artell said that his hard work and attitude saved his Crewe career.

He said: “I had a chat with Ollie around February time and I basically told him that he had to become the best player in the Under-23s every week. Not once or twice but every time he played and to be fair to him, he knuckled down and was the best player for the Under-23s towards the end of the season.

“His reward was his debut against Barnet on the last game. He deserved that and he should be proud of the progress he made in the last few months of the season. It wasn’t a decision that was taken lightly, he worked hard for that and his family should be proud of that fact as well.

The boss added: “Ollie has now made his league debut and now he has to keep pushing on. He deserved his contract. He came back from an unsuccessful loan at Nantwich and maybe that opened his eyes a bit. He came back, took a few weeks to get over it, but he really knuckled down.”