Crewe Alexandra boss David Artell says he was not surprised that Barnsley boss Gerhard Struber named a strong side to face us in the FA Cup. The Barnsley boss made just four changes from the side that lost narrowly to Derby County in their last Championship match and those changes certainly didn’t weaken them.

The Tykes deservedly won 3-1 in the FA Cup third round after controlling much of the second half at Gresty Road and Artell admitted afterwards that ‘we have been beaten by the better side on the day’.

The boss told crewealex.net: “I wouldn’t expect anything less from Gerhard. I expected them to name a strong side and fo them to have done their homework on us. Gerhard may be foreign but his staff will  know all about the FA Cup and what Crewe are about.

“He made a few changes but those changes didn’t weaken them. there were no 18 year0olds out there making their debuts.

"That is what the FA Cup is about and it doesn’t matter who you are you have to treat the competition with respect. I am not in favour of Premier League or Championship clubs making wholesale changes for the FA Cup. “