Boss Dave Artell says his Crewe side need to be on their ‘mettle’ in order to claim maximum points against Exeter City in the midweek ‘game in hand’.

The rescheduled tie at Gresty Road comes with the Greicans having not won in their last three – following three wins on the bounce.

The gaffer says the visitors are much-changed from the one that dismantled Crewe 3-0 at St James Park in September – but it’s still set to be a tough evening.

Artell said: “When we played them down there you could see they were a top, top side.

“Has their form slipped a bit, yes, but they’re still a good team and they’ve still got aspirations to have a successful season.

“We’ve got to be on our guard and on our mettle and that will hopefully give us the three points.

“It was a nice pitch down there earlier in the season; I think they’d won seven from seven or something like that. They’d started off like a house on fire but now their form has been a bit indifferent recently.

“Our performances have been good of late, so we’ve got to make sure we carry that on in order to get the result we want.”