David Artell believes that his Crewe Alexandra side are in a much stronger position than they were last season and the season before that one, but he stresses that there is plenty of improvement to be made.

Crewe had threatened to push for a top seven placing following a really consistent Christmas and New Year period, but three straight defeats have virtually extinguished any hopes of a play-off place.

Of course, it is still mathematically possible but now a tall order. Artell is not thinking about any of that for now and is only focussing on Cambridge this evening.

The Crewe boss told crewealex.net: “On one hand I am quite contented because we have improved from last year. I think we are in better shape now than last season and the season before.

“But losing three on the bounce again and being wherever we are in the league again is not it. I said after the Northampton game that being mid-table in Division Four is not it for me. That is not acceptable in my eyes and we will continue to strive to be better.

“Our we better than we were last season then I would say yes. I would say we are in better condition but what we are trying to achieve takes time. On the flipside there is plenty of room for improvement. “