'You find out who you want alongside you': David Artell sends strong message to Crewe squad ahead of Sunderland clash

The Alex have dropped to 23rd in League One and have won just once in the league this season.

Following the defeat at Fleetwood, Artell gave a frank assessment of his side’s performance.

“I didn’t think it was a particularly high-quality game. I don’t think it was a high-intensity game either. But we have conceded a poor first goal,” he said.

“We stopped passing the ball to each other. We started to play as individuals, we started whacking it. When you get setbacks in life, in football, in your career, it is about how you react.

“I felt as though some of our lads reacted really poorly.

“If there is one lesson to go away from today, it is reacting better to going 1-0 down.”

Artell now wants to see more from his players when they face promotion contenders Sunderland and Wycombe this week

“It is important to go through the video with the players and we will do that as a group this morning,” he added.

“Bouncing back is the name of the game and that is what we work hard on doing. We all have a point to prove after Saturday and it is about reaching our own standards, regardless if that is Fleetwood, Sunderland or Burton.

“It is about reaching our own levels. If we can do that on a consistent basis then we will be fine. If we don’t hit those levels and the performance is below par then you get what we saw on Saturday.

“You learn more in adversity. It focuses the mind more and gives you a better barometer, a better cage when the chips are down. You find out who you want alongside you in the trench and we will find out again tomorrow night.”

Sunderland remained fourth in League One following Saturday’s 2-1 win at Gillingham but do have games in hand on Wycombe and Plymouth above them.

Lee Johnson’s side are level on points with third-place Wigan having played the same number of league fixtures.

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