David Artell admits that he is just as excited with the release of the new EFL fixtures tomorrow just as much as when he was a player.

The Crewe Alexandra boss stresses that the fixture dates are personal to each and every individual and that their release brings into focus that a new season is just around the corner.

Ahead of fixture release day in the Football League, the Crewe boss told us: “As a manager you are like everyone else. You get excited about the new fixtures coming out on Thursday morning and seeing who we get the first game, the last game, at Christmas, over Easter. We are exactly the same.

“The fixtures can be personal. You may a game on your birthday, your kids’ birthday, or your mum or dads. Everyone is different and we all look at the fixtures in our own way.

“We have to play everyone and I am not sure it can be kind or unkind to you. Perhaps you would prefer to start at home and not have a long trip away for the first one but you have to get on with it. It is what it is.

“We want to make a good start. We did that last season. We had a good August and we were right up there but we failed to follow that through for a few months and there is room for improvement there.”