Crewe Alexandra boss David Artell wants his in-form team to show that they can get through the winter months without a major dip in form.

The Alex boss is pleased with the start we have made to the new season but he wants us to avoid a slide in results over the next few months.

Artell has called October through to Christmas as the ‘workhorse months’ and he says that the weather and condition of pitches cannot become an excuse if we are sustain our promising start.

He told crewealex.net: “It is something we have discussed because we know we have made good starts before and then dropped off in October and November before coming good again. If we want to achieve what we want to achieve then we have to remain consistent.

“It is something we have to make sure doesn’t happen. I think it was Pep (Guardiola) said when I saw him speak about October, November and December and the importance of picking up results.

“They are the workhorse months but that doesn’t mean they are all results that have to be grounded out 1-0, 2-1 or whatever.

“You can still play well in winter and when we need to grind out a result, like we did at Cheltenham on Saturday, then we have the ability to do so.

He added: “There is still such a long way to go. We are over 11 fences and have 35 to get over. There will be tricky ones along the way but we have to keep on galloping and see where it gets us.”