Davis hails youth policy

Steve Davis is proud to have moulded a side around Crewe's famed youth production line as they prepare for Sunday's play-off final.

There could be as many as nine homegrown players in the starting line-up as Alex arrive in the capital to face Cheltenham at Wembley on the back of a club-record 18-match unbeaten run. Such success seemed unlikely when Davis, 46, succeeded club legend Dario Gradi to take on his first Football League assignment in November as Alex languished 18th in the table. But Davis said: "The club are very, very proud and everyone connected with the club - the academy staff, the coaches, Dario, Bakes (assistant manager Neil Baker) - they've all played their part. We've got some very good staff here and that enables us to produce the players that we do. "We're fortunate that we've got a big set of players that's come through together and grown up together in some cases. That understanding they've got was already there. It's a natural thing from when they were seven, eight, nine years of age. "We've brought that into the team now and I'm not sure any other club in the Football League or Premier League could boast that sort of academy group in the first team."