David Artell believes that the stark difference between the two halves of football on Tuesday evening against Stoke City was down to belief.

The Alex found themselves 3-0 down at the half-time interval but rallied in the second half to score twice ourselves and make a real game of it.

Artell admitted afterwards that he resisted to ‘shout at them’ at half-time because of it being a pre-season friendly but has warned that lack of concentration, especially from set-pieces cannot allow for soft goals.

Stoke scored twice from corners and allowed our former player, Nick Powell to ghost in undetected to head home a third on the stroke of half-time.

Artell told crewealex.net: “It was a game of two halves and I thought we were gaining a bit of momentum in the game even before they made those three subs.

“I know Stoke didn’t press as much as they did in the first half but we showed greater courage in that second half. There were too many of them prepared to get on the ball and all we said to them at half-time was to get on the ball more.

“We wanted them to show that courage and belief if you like, and credit to them, they did that. We got the ball and started passing it quicker and crisper and it made a marked difference. I think everyone saw that and I was pleased with the response and the fact that we made a game of it.

He added: “At 3-0 down at half-time against a very good side, you can fear the worst but credit to our lads, they kept going and they believed in their ability and the ability of their team-mates to take the ball even when marked and that was the most important thing for me.”