The Crewe Alexandra fan base is one of the most knowledgeable around according to the boss. David Artell says that you cannot kid the Alex faithful when it comes to performances and he appreciates their honesty in their support and evaluation.

The Alex boss has praised the supporters ever since he succeeded Steve Davis as manager and he says that he is pleased that their patience with him and his ideas is paying off. Crewe have made their best start to a season in 25 years.

David told crewealex.net:  “The fans have been great. They have been ever since I took over.

“They are a very knowledgeable bunch and know when the team have played well and not played well. They know when we have been lucky or unlucky and I appreciate that side of them. They are fair.

“I think there wasn’t anyone in the stadium who thought that Exeter could have been out of sight at half time when we played them. There wasn’t anyone at the end of the game thinking that we didn’t think we deserved a point after our second half performance either.

“They have seen it all before and they know that we are playing some decent stuff and are top of the league on merit.

“We had over 5,000 for the Exeter game, so hopefully we will get that again against Swindon. That is what we want.

“So if there are any fans out there who want to bring their children along, then I would encourage them to come down and watch us. I want the players to engage with the fans and you get that at Crewe. You can watch them from five yards here and they will chat with you.

He added: “It is a real community club and we want the fans and the people to be a real part of what we are trying to achieve.”