First year professional, Rio Adebisi was named on the first team bench for the first time in his young career at Oldham Athletic on Saturday and boss David Artell says he would have no qualms about putting the athletic full-back on the pitch if needs be.

The Crewe Alexandra boss says the progress Adebisi has made and the pre-season he had saw him deservedly named in the squad of 18 for the victory at Boundary Park.

Artell told crewealex.net: “Rio is a good young player. He is athletic and had a really good pre-season, as did Connor (Heath). They have done exceptionally well because those first few weeks as a professional footballer hit you like a ton weight.

“They did miss a day of training and that is half the battle. They came through physically and Rio deserved his promotion to the bench.

“Now, he hasn’t done anything yet. He was a substitute on Saturday and that is a step in the right direction. It is a small step to hopefully bigger things for him because we think he will have a bright future in the game.

“He has keep on working like all the youngsters do, the Lundstrams, Dales, Reillys, Johnsons and Regan Griffiths because they know they will get opportunities here.

“They have to make sure that I have to pick them. Olly Finney is a prime example of that. I had to pick him because of the form he showed for the Under-23s and then in the first team squad.

“He will get plenty of game time this season because of that as well. “