Following his man-of-the-match performance and first goal for the club on Tuesday night, a modest Michael Raynes was quick to praise his teammates and the contribution of second half substitute Brad Walker.

The former Hartlepool man replaced Tom Bowery in central midfield and his presence helped Crewe Alexandra record their second successive clean-sheet at home.

Following a deserved 2-0 win over Notts County, Raynes told ifollow The Alex: “Those are the games you thrive on and there was a strong belief in the dressing room that we could do something like that again.

“It is about not having any fear in this league. We know that when we play to our potential that we are as good as anybody on our day. I don’t think we could have asked for a better performance.

“The bar is there. We raised the standard on Tuesday and everyone worked so hard for the result.

“Take Brad Walker who came on to help us. He looked like an absolute Rolls Royce in there and I was delighted that he managed to have the impact he had.

“Brad is a young lad and it is difficult leaving home for the first time and coming to a new club. It broke my heart when I had to do as a young lad and it is not easy.

“He is a great lad and I am sure he is coming through the other side of things. I cannot praise him enough because I know how difficult it is moving away from your family. I was buzzing for him.”

And on that forceful tackle that rocked Gresty Road, Raynes said: “I just said to him afterwards, it is about time we saw a bit of that from him. “

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