Club captain George Ray is actually looking forward to having a positive pre-season after missing a large chunk of this season with a back injury.

Ray, 24, returned to action in the emphatic 4-1 win over Lincoln City in February and since his return, Crewe Alexandra have managed to accumulate 17 points from the ten games he has been involved in.

Ray admits that after missing so much of the campaign, he has struggled with his fitness levels as he plays catch-up to the rest of the squad - but he has been relatively pleased with his performances and his ability to manage the games.

George told iFollow the Alex: “It has been hard fitness wise and I don’t think I am there yet. It was always going to be hard because I missed the pre-season and didn’t come back until the New Year.

“I am just getting through the games really and I have been pleased to have done that. I am just happy to be back playing and pleased that the results have picked up. We have played reasonably well and we want to win the last few games, so we can take that into next season.

“I will rest the body, the back and get that physical and mental rest before returning to pre-season and putting everything into it again.

“It will nice to get that solid base of fitness that comes with a pre-season because I think better fitness will lead to better performances from me next season.”