Conor Thomas says Crewe Alexandra players have responded well to Lee Bell taking interim charge of the team, and they are gunning for three points at Swindon Town on Saturday.

The midfielder, who arrived at Mornflake Stadium in the summer, believes the squad have quickly bought into Bell’s way of doing things, as evidenced by back-to-back wins over Leyton Orient and Colchester United.

Now the 29-year-old is fully focused on the weekend’s trip to Wiltshire, as The Railwaymen bid to climb the League Two table.

Thomas said: “It was a shock to us, as much as it was to people externally, and the lads felt for Alex (Morris) because he’s going through stuff at home. It was difficult to hear how that’s affected him.

“Now the dust has started to settle, the gaffer has implemented his ideas and the lads have responded well.

“Hopefully it will keep evolving and we’ll continue to move in the right direction. A lot of the foundations were already there, but Belly has his own ideas.

“All managers are slightly different and have their own ways of playing, but it is just little tweaks and I haven’t got a bad word to say about either of them.”

He added: “Football is a game of fine margins, but it is nice to be on a small winning streak now and hopefully things will continue to evolve.  

“Three points are at stake (at Swindon) and we want to get them. If we do, it’ll be a big win. It’ll be a good atmosphere there, they’ve been doing well.

“We know they play good football and have good players. That, combined with going away from home, means we know it will be tough.

“But we have done our homework and we’ll be looking to implement our own game on the match.”

Thomas, who spent the 2016-17 season at Swindon, has made 19 appearances for the Alex since arriving from Cheltenham Town.

On a personal note, he’s pleased with the way things have been going.

Thomas added: “I’ve settled in well. I like living here and I love the club. The staff have been brilliant and the lads are class, it’s been an easy transition. 

“I feel good at the minute, which is partly thanks to Joe (Academy Head of Sports Science, Joe Phillips) who does a lot of work to manage players’ loads. Hopefully, I can stay injury free and continue to help the team.”