Alex Morris says this players will continue to tested at a high level with West Brom and Rotherham still to play at our Mornflake Stadium home. The Crewe Alexandra boss says the pre-season preparation went up a gear when encountering Michael Duff’s Barnsley side.

Crewe’ organisation, shape and work ethic managed to keep a deserved clean-sheet on Saturday and Morris says that type of test is only going to go up a notch with two Championship sides still to play before the real stuff starts again at Rochdale at the end of the month.

Morris told the club’s official website: “I was pleased with the way we defended our box on Saturday. We limited them to only a handful of half chances really and we will need to defend our goal and defend our box like that because we are going to have spells in every game this season where we will need to do that.  

“If you can do that and stand up to that then that gives you the platform to go and win the game at the other end of the pitch.  

“We need to be better on the ball than we were in the first half at Barnsley, but as the game opened up in the second half, we started to show much more life in that final third and had some opportunities of our own to score if we had been a bit more clinical or chose the right option.

“We learnt a great deal more on Saturday than the previous pre-season games because of the level of the challenge and I’m sure we will get plenty more when we face West Brom and Rotherham later on this month.

“These games are all more reflective of the tempo and intensity you are going to experience in the Football League, so those games give you the opportunity to practice those patterns with the ball and having a sound defensive shape.”