Crewe Manager David Artell was pleased to give his players a rest this week after having a break from a midweek match for the first time since the opening week of the season.

His side had played ten games in five weeks in league & cup to start the new campaign & the Alex boss felt his troops, and himself, needed some downtime to keep fresh ahead of the next run of fixtures.

After Saturday's win at Grimsby, the Crewe boss gave his players Sunday, Tuesday & Wednesday off before the full group returned to Reaseheath today (Thursday) for two days training ahead of taking on Cambridge United at Gresty Road.

Artell said: “The first thing is that they’ve deserved a break this week.

“I even had a day off myself on Sunday, didn’t answer my phone & I didn’t watch the game back like I normally do, I did that on Monday.

“They’ve had a few days off this week rather than just one so it’s a recharge batteries kind of week & any knocks, niggles, aches or pains can be rested up to get people ready from this point on.

“We’ll pick it up again Thursday & Friday then into the game on Saturday.

“They’ve definitely deserved a break & you can justify it more when you’re winning games. But even still, you know you’ve got to be understanding of the physical load.

“Eight games in August is a real tough, tough start. It doesn’t matter whether you’re winning, losing or drawing, the physical side of it is still there.

“Six games this month, six games next month , it’s the bread & butter of the season & you’ve got to make sure you understand your players’ physical capabilities & understand that when you’re given an opportunity to give them a breather – you do it.”