Olly Lancashire admits that it was a difficult couple of years at his last club Swindon Town but the experienced defender is now relishing the chance for a fresh start at Crewe.

The 30-year-old centre-half was David Artell’s first capture of the summer when penning a two-year contract after making 63 appearances during his time at the County Ground.

Now the former Crystal Palace and Southampton defender is aiming for a successful spell at Gresty Road. He feels more at home after moving back to be close to his young family.

He told the club’s official website: “I must admit it was a difficult two years at Swindon. I went down there with the aim of getting promoted after the club had been relegated from League One, but it ended up being a long two years.

“My wife and kids still lived up around this area so I was down there on my own, and it was a place where it was difficult to build any sort of momentum with the sort of things that went on down there.

“Any dad or husband will tell you it is difficult to spend that amount of time away so it was important that I moved back to this area. It is nice to get a fresh start.

“After speaking to three or four clubs around here, this was the one I felt was right for me. It was quite an easy decision in the end.

“I’ve been in about 10 days and you can see the quality here so hopefully we can have a positive season.

Olly added: “We can achieve anything we want. If you look at League Two over the past couple of years we’ve seen teams get promoted who we’d never have thought would, and teams be relegated we’d have never expected to be.”