Lee Bell says Crewe Alexandra must accept the pain of defeat and use it as motivation to bounce back.

The Railwaymen slipped to their fourth League Two defeat of the season at Grimsby Town, with Joe White’s volley proving a consolation in a 2-1 reverse.

The Manager has no desire to brush it under the carpet – and instead wants his players to experience the disappointment of a below-par performance.

But he also backed his men to bounce back, with Bristol Rovers next up in the FA Cup at Mornflake Stadium on Tuesday (7.45pm).

Bell said: “It was easily our worst performance of the season. Grimsby dealt with the conditions much better and we were nowhere near it.

“I can handle losing matches and so can the players, but we dropped way below what we are capable of and that’s down to us – giving the ball away cheaply, a lack of energy early on, and we didn’t cope very well.

“We have to let it hurt us. We are going to let it sting.”

He added: “I felt they (Grimsby) deserved it; they played with more energy than us.

“Hopefully it’s a reminder of how we have to look with our individual performances but let’s not go overboard – this group of players has been brilliant and we are not used to losing matches. It’s now about how we react to put it right.”