David Artell wants his Crewe Alexandra side to show more resilience in matches during the second half of the season. The Alex boss is looking for his team to stick in games more and overcome set-backs better as we aim to improve our league standing.

Crewe return to action at Carlisle United his weekend hoping to build on a decent points return over the festive period. The Railwaymen won three out of five games to place an eight-point buffer zone over the bottom two places but Artell is striving for a more consistent second half of the campaign.

“The table doesn’t lie and we are where we are for a reason, “says David. “We have not been consistent enough, but our form over the festive period has put us in a far better position but we need to be doing far better.

“We have done well recently but we have won one, lost one, won one and we have got to be better than that.

“There is room for improvement all over and we have got to be better at sticking in games. When we are not playing as well as we can, then we have got to grind out results better.

“We have to show that greater resilience when the opposition score or are on top in the game. When we do stick at it, like we have done at Port Vale, at Morecambe, at home to Stevenage and Barnet then we usually come out the other side.

“It is about having that right mind-set and making sure we have the best chance of winning football matches. “