David Artell says he is excited to have a home game against his former club Morecambe on the opening day of the season. The EFL fixtures were released last Thursday and again sees Artell up against his close friend, Jim Bentley, in the opposition dugout.

Crewe defeated the Shrimpers 1-0 in our penultimate home game last time out with Shaun Miller grabbing the only goal of the game against his former club. Morecambe went on to survive in League Two mainly due to two goalless draws against Cambridge United and Coventry City towards the end of the campaign.

Artell was obviously delighted that his former club escaped the drop in the end: “I was pleased for the club and I was pleased for Jim. It is a terrific club and they work extremely hard on limited resources.

“One of the first things I did when our last game was over was check on their result and thankfully it turned it out alright for them.

“The first game is always a great game. Everyone looks forward to it and it is nice to have another home game to start with.

He added: “You can put a positive spin or a negative spin on the fixture list but we have a home game to start with and I am sure everyone will be excited when it comes around.”