Ryan Dicker has urged Crewe Alexandra to ‘take the shackles off’ and play with more freedom when Grimsby Town visit tomorrow (Saturday, 3pm).

The Assistant Manager admitted he had detected a level of ‘edginess’ in the side’s play recently.

But he hopes Tuesday’s win at Morecambe has provided a confidence boost, ahead of the clash with David Artell’s side.

Dicker said: “There are three games to go and you can tell that there has been a bit of edginess.

“Hopefully Tuesday’s result means the lads will take the shackles off a bit and try to pick up some momentum.

“We don’t want to focus too much on (Grimsby); it’s about how we can build on the win at Morecambe.

“Grimsby have changed a bit lately and are a bit more back-to-front, which might be a needs-must situation given where they are in the table.

“They are more compact and harder to beat and they don’t leave many gaps, and you can see the difference in results. It is going to be difficult because they will be hard to break down.”

Crewe, who start the game fifth in League Two, will be without loan midfielder Lewis Leigh, who starts a four-match suspension following his red card at Mazuma Stadium.

Dicker added: “We’ll lose Lewis for four games. In truth, I thought it was a bit reckless and he didn’t need to do it.

“There was minimal contact but at that stage of the game it didn’t need to happen and I’m sure Lewis will learn from it.”