David Artell says that no-one is more frustrated than him with the way this season has gone for Crewe Alexandra. The Alex boss and team have had to deal with obstacles at almost every corner during the campaign but Artell is not one for using adversity as an excuse.

Crewe have 13 fixtures to save our season and move away from the relegation zone. It is going to be atall order, but Artell says that his side are heading in the right direction after two good performances against promotion hunting Wigan Athletic and Oxford United.

Ahead of our weekend trip to Cheltenham, Artell told us: “I completely understand everyone’s frustration. No-one is more frustrated than me let me tell you. We are working extremely hard and so are the players and in the last two games, we are getting there. It has been better from us and we have to make sure we do that for 90 minutes, not 45, 60 or 80.

“It is a long process and doesn’t happen overnight. It took us two and half years to build a team good enough to win promotion and then finish mid-table in League One. It took time and the players we lost are now with Championship clubs.

“We know we have to win games of football but there has a lot that has happened this season, but it is what it is and I am not one to sit here and make excuses.

He added: “As a club we have to keep working hard, keep developing and improving and make sure this new team we are building evolves and gets better. We have done it before and we can do it again.”