Boss has choices to make with virtually fit squad to choose from

David Artell has revealed that he took the difficult decision to leave Charlie Kirk out of his starting XI at Exeter City on Tuesday night because the playing surface at St. James Park was not ideal for his creativity. The Alex boss decided to go with Daniel Powell and Stephen Walker in wide areas and Kirk was only introduced as a late substitute in the 1-1 draw.

Artell has a selection headache ahead of this weekend’s home fixture against Stevenage.

The Crewe boss said: “We have a strong squad and I’ve said that we will need them at different times. We have different players who can play different roles if needs be.

“We had to do that with Charlie (Kirk) on Tuesday. The pitch didn’t suit Charlie. Of course, he was disappointed not to play but he understood the decision.

“Daniel and Stephen played ever so well and they gave us a bit of presence up there on a difficult pitch but on the flip side of that, we perhaps missed a touch of creativity from Charlie.

“We have plenty of options and the competition is good. It was the same with Greenie, he came in because he is more athletic than say Ollie Finney but again it was for the right reasons and for the right opposition and circumstances.

“We had to grind a result out and the players we played at Exeter complimented each other and helped us do that.”