Boss believes rest will do his number one some good in the long-term.

David Artell believes that giving his regular number one goalkeeper Ben Garratt a breather will help with the youngsters’ development. Artell left out the former England Under-21 stopper for our trip to the Ricoh Arena on Saturday, with his understudy Dave Richards marking his senior debut with an impressive display.

Artell believes that after playing over 100 successive games, the 23-year-old goalkeeper needs some time out of the team to recharge.

Artell told crewealex.net: “People say that it is a massive decision because it is the goalkeeper, but in my eyes it is like any other player. I spoke to Ben at length and explained to him that I thought he needed a breather and that it would do him some good.

“Now, if a player believes he needs a breather is another matter. A player just wants to play.  They never think like that.

“He has played 100 plus game on the spin and he needs a breather. Although he has not made a catastrophic error this season, he has conceded a lot of goals of late and as a goalkeeper you always come under the microscope.

“Ben will be back at some point because he is a very good goalkeeper, but we have another one in Dave (Richards) so we decided to give him a go.

He added: “Ben will benefit from a breather, watching the games and getting a better understanding.”