David Artell has told the club’s official website that it is up to us to show why there is now a league between ourselves and our FA Cup opponents, Swindon Town.

Crewe Alexandra have faced Swindon last season in League One and both went up from League Two post-Covid. Over the previous four seasons of meetings, both sides have won four games with none of them have ended in a draw.

Crewe host the Robins, who are now managed by Ben Garner and are currently fifth in the League Two table in the first round of the FA Cup this weekend.

Ahead of the encounter at Mornflake Stadium, Artell said: “We have played Swindon over the last few years and we are familiar with a lot of their players. They have a relatively new manager in Ben (Garner) and a few things are bound to change as he stamps his own authority on his team but we have come up against most of their team and know what to expect.

“They are a league below now but are going really well under Ben, so we know it is going to be a tough ask. It will be even tougher if are not prepared to match their endeavour. We will have to stand up and be counted, play our football and show why we are a league above.

“If we don’t then we could be in for a long afternoon. “