David Artell says that losing 14 players for one reason or another over the course of the season tells its own story about how unsettled his squad has been this season. Artell has had to deal with a couple of players retiring at the beginning of the season and numerous players being injured as Crewe were sucked into a relegation scrap.
The Railwaymen will need a footballing miracle to escape the drop at this late stage after winning just 6 of 39 matches played so far.
Crewe have to rediscover promotion winning form and quickly to stand any chance of avoiding a return to League Two after two seasons.
With seven ‘cup finals’ remaining, Artell says: “We have lost 14 players for various reasons this season and that is an amazing stat. That tells its own story. I am not talking about the lads who decided to retire or the ones we have sold, but the ones like J’Neil (Bennett) and Ben (Knight) who have been injured for a long time. Scott Kashket has only just come back from long-term injury and the ones we have lost at various times throughout the season.
“That is not an excuse they are the facts. Not many clubs would be able to cope with that turnover of players in a season.
“All we can do is give it everything we have got. We have to be committed and hopefully our quality will come through. We know we have to improve our results in the last seven games if we have to stand any chance and we know what we have got to do.
“We know that if we win on Saturday, it could cut it to six points and if we lose it, it could go to 12 points with six games left. We know the significance of it.”