Crewe now face '10-game season' says boss Lee Bell

Crewe Alexandra manager Lee Bell says his squad face a "10-game season" as they try to cement a place in the League Two play-off places.

The Alex are currently ninth in the table, only outside the top seven on goal difference, after 36 matches.

They slipped out of the play-off spots after last Saturday's 2-1 defeat by Bristol Rovers, which saw them concede twice in the final five minutes of the match to lose three important points.

Despite the disappointment, Bell said he is confident his team have the fortitude to put that behind them quickly.

"We've shown a good response to when we've had setbacks, and I'm sure Saturday won't be the only setback we have between now and the end of the season," he told BBC Radio Stoke.

"It's about getting over it quickly, you can carry it around with you.

"It was a long 24 hours for me personally after the game, knowing six, seven minutes of minutes cost us the game.

"But we've got to get over it quickly."

Crewe face managerless Walsall at the weekend, who sacked Mat Sadler on Wednesday in the midst of their fading play-off challenge.

The Saddlers are three points below Crewe, who will also face five teams currently above them in the table over the remainder of the season.

"It's a 10-game season now, to dedicate yourself and immerse yourself completely to the challenge that's ahead of us," Bell said.

"When these bumps do come and the cracks do come a little bit, we've got to put them back together and quickly get on with it.

"They're not cup finals. It's not got to that point in terms of trying to add pressure and the build up to it.

"But we obviously need to win matches if we want to sustain in and around where we are."

Bell did confirm that top scorer Emre Tezgel is "somewhere near" a return after an ankle injury.

The 20-year-old Stoke loanee scored 13 goals, including in one in each his last five league games, before getting injured just before Christmas.

Tezgel is now back with the Alex after returning to the Potters to recover and Bell has his fingers crossed the striker may play some part against Walsall.

"He came back last week, we'll liaise with Stoke, go through his numbers and we'll see where he's at for an opportunity on Saturday," he said.