Crewe Alexandra manager, Alex Morris, says he is pleased with the way his pre-season planning has gone thus far and he has praised his players for taking new ideas on and off the pitch on board.

Morris says that he is pleased with the way his players have embraced new ideas and discipline and he admits that the spirit has now recovered after such a disappointing relegation season last time out.

Ahead of our home friendly against West Bromwich Albion this weekend, the Alex boss said: “We are developing at the speed and at the rate that we anticipated. We have got plenty of work into them and everyone who has been part of the training has bought in to what we expect of them.

“There is a great spirit about the place, the standards and the discipline that we have been demanding has been there day in day out. The aim is to add a couple more players to the group before the Rochdale game, so we can look to hit the ground running in that game and the ones that follow.

“Two or three will be touch to be fit in time for the opening game and we will have one or two who will certainly be fit in time. We have Conor and Charlie back in midfield which is a huge help to us in terms of planning towards that first game.

“We have unfortunately picked up one or two injuries in the games we have played which you don’t account for. They are impact injuries, not muscle injuries and there is nothing you can do about them.

The boss added: “That's the way it is regardless of it being pre-season or not. You always have to contend with injuries, which is why we need to add a bit of depth to the squad to allow us to withstand those injuries when they do come.”