Crewe Alexandra boss David Artell and members of his backroom staff had the benefit of watching our FA Cup opponents, Barnsley, in action against Derby County last night. The Tykes lost 2-1 at Pride Park in a match that saw the former England captain Wayne Rooney make his debut for the Rams.

Artell was pleased to see the Championship side in live action and he stresses that regardless of the team Gerhard Struber selects against us on Sunday, it will be a tough game to reach round four of the Emirates FA Cup.

Ahead of this weekend’s FA Cup fixture at Gresty Road, the boss said: “We had the chance to watch Barnsley in action at Derby and it was busy because some fella (Rooney) was playing.

“When you get the chance to watch the opposition live it is really enlightening because you see things that you may not see on TV or on clips.

“It is always worthwhile doing it if you can. Barnsley are a very good team and it doesn’t matter what team Gerhard picks. He will do what he wants with his team and I will pick a team to try and win the game.

“What we will need to be is totally at it. If we can play to our levels and play like we did in the first half against Carlisle then we have a half a chance. We will have to play really well and if we can then we will see where we get too.

“They are two leagues above us. They have some talented young players, who fly around, so we will have to match that for a start and hopefully the FA Cup can become that greater leveler and some of the magic is on us.”

“It will be a tough 90 minutes, we know that but we will give it our best and try to get through.”