Crewe will be a tougher game

Last updated : 30 November 2007 By The Chairman
The Latics take on Crewe Alexandra in tomorrow's FA Cup second round game. They beat the Gresty Road outfit 3-2 at Boundary Park back in September but manager John Sheridan is expecting a tougher game tomorrow.

He told Latics World, "Crewe were struggling the last time we played them, but they've picked up since and have been on a good run and find themselves in the top half. We had a difficult game against them here last time, but this is a game I know we can win and I will be instilling that belief into the players. We've already beaten them once so we know we can do it, and the obvious attraction is getting into the next round and getting a good tie."

"Crewe went 2-0 up when they came here last time, but you don't usually come back and win 3-2. We deserved to win in the end, but Crewe could have had the game sewn up. We didn't start right that day, and on Saturday we need to be on our toes and take the game to them from the first whistle. They have always played the same passing game, and I've got a lot of respect for Dario Gradi for his record over the years. He makes players take care of the ball, which they must learn to do if they are to play at a higher level. He teachers players to play simple and pass the ball properly, and that's what I like to try and do."

"Crewe play the right way but we will try to match them and they know we can play football too. I think they're a similar side to Doncaster in that we can get at them, and tempo will be very important in this game. We must make sure the game is played how we want it and not how Crewe would like to play."