David Artell is looking forward to going head-to-head with Sol Campbell this weekend.

The Alex boss says that the former England International defender commands respect and has proved that he is a ‘proper football man’ by accepting the task of keeping Macclesfield Town in the EFL. Campbell has backed his philosophy and ideas to get them off the bottom of the table and now within touching distance of safety. It has been some turn around under the former Arsenal and Tottenham defender.

Ahead of our eagerly anticipated trip to the Moss Rose this weekend, Artell told crewealex.net: “Sol is a football man, you can see that. He wouldn’t have wanted to go in at Macclesfield and try and rescue them if he wasn’t.

“He was desperate to get a chance in management and he was very public with his views and all credit to him. He has his ideas and he is implementing them at Macclesfield. They are playing a lot more football and he wants them to play out from the back. They won’t always do it but you can see that he wants his team to play the right way.

“When a man like Sol Campbell walks into the club, with the career he has had then he instantly commands respect. He had a great career and was a top, top centre-half so why wouldn’t the Macclesfield players listen to him and learn from him?

“He has got them some wins and they believe in what he is telling them. They have a great chance of getting out of trouble now.”