Lee Bell says Crewe Alexandra players will not be allowed to slacken off, as they prepare to take on Stevenage tonight (Tuesday, 7.45pm).

The Railwaymen are seven games unbeaten, and sit 17th in League Two after Friday’s 4-3 win over Salford.

But the Manager is still looking for improvements, and warned they will have to be at the top of their game take something from Steve Evans’s promotion-chasing side.

Bell said: “It has been a very difficult season for a number of reasons, but we had to stop the rot from last season first and foremost.

“We’ve drawn too many, but stopping losing every week was the first thing. Now we have to win as many as we can between now and the end of the season, and finish as high as we can.

“I think there is progress being made. Naturally, everyone wants it to come quicker, but I think you can see the work we are doing coming to fruition on the pitch.

“The players are playing to stay in the team, I won’t be allowing them any slack. They can’t afford to look any further ahead than the next 90 minutes.”

He added: “Stevenage are bang in the (promotion) mix and have achieved a very good level of consistency overall.

“All sides have a blip, but I watched them on Saturday and I thought they were excellent, good all over the park and worthy winners against Walsall.

“It’s not just hustle and bustle, they are good players with a good management team, so we’ll have to be bang at it.

“It will be a really tough game. We have shown the players what to expect, and they have to deal with it.”