David Artell understandably believes that his Crewe Alexandra side have had a ‘decent season’ regardless of where they finish in League One.
The Railwaymen have five fixtures to go and Artell has publicly spoken about finishing strongly and in a high position as possible but he has also praised his players and staff for the way they have tackled the demands of competing in a higher league with the lowest budget.
The Alex boss told crewealex.net: “Someone asked me after the game on Saturday if it had turned into a disappointing season. I couldn’t believe it. Whatever happens between now and the end of the season, we have had a decent first season back in League One.
“The players and staff deserve credit for that because I know for a fact that we have the lowest budget in the league. There are not many clubs that have done better than us when it comes to the resources they have. Maybe Accrington Stanley, have done slightest better in relation to their budget but that is about it.
“There are teams who are paying five and six times what we can afford and we are proud of the fact that we haven’t had to look over our shoulder once this season. In fact, we have been looking the other way. We have been looking upwards and have had opportunities to get into that top bracket.
“We haven’t been able to quite take it but to be in with a chance of doing that at times this season, has shown how far we have come.
“For me, we have had a decent season, a good season, and there are some bigger clubs than us who have found it more difficult. That is the brutal reality of it and to finish 15th or wherever has us overachieving in relation to what we can afford.”